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ORIGIN 



PROGRESS AND DESTINY 



OF THE 



ENGLISH LANGUAGE 



AND 



LITERATURE. 



JOHN A. WEISSE, M.D. 



"The other nations of Europe may esteem themselves fortunate, that the English have 
not made the discovery of the suitableness of their language for universal adoption." 

—Dr. K. M. Rapp's " Physiolo=ie der Sprache." Vol. III. p. 157. 



NEW YORK: 
J. W. BOUTON, 706 Broadway. 

1879. 







Copyright by 
J. W. BOUTON, 

1878. 




* r * . '• ' • 




Trow's 

Printing and Hook-rinding Co. 

205-213 East \ith St., 

M-W YORK. 



ENGLISH-SPEAKING POPULATIONS 

IN 

EUROPE, AMERICA, ASIA, AFRICA, AND OCEANICA, 

AS 

^ &okm of, gippttdatiott of i^eir Jftmgtrag*, 

7WZS 1 WORK IS DEDICATED 

BY THE AUTHOR. 



"Language is an art, and a glorious one, whose influence extends over all others, and 
in which all science whatever must center ; but an art springing from necessity, and 
originally invented by artless men." 

— Horne Tooke's ** Diversions of Purley."" Vol. I., p. 317, L. E. 



PREFACE. 



"The science of language is a modern one, as much so as geology and chemistry ; it be- 
longs, like them, to the nineteenth century." — Prof. W. D. Whitney. 

Our new method of analyzing the English language was 
suggested by the term Anglo-Saxon, used by enthusiasts 
as a national and linguistic pedigree. The people of 
England seemed to us as much mixed as any nation in 
Europe ; the people of the United States more than any 
European nation, and the English idiom more Greco-Latin 
than Anglo-Saxon. A strict analysis of Anglo-Saxon 
and English literature, from King Ethelbert, A.D. 597> to 
Queen Victoria, realized our opinion, not only historically 
and philologically, but numerically. 

Our book is no eulogy on the virtues of the ninety Eng- 
lish-speaking millions, nor is it a satire on their vices ; 
but an essay on what they have achieved in language, 
which contains the thought and wisdom of the nation. 
We analyzed about one hundred and fifty Anglo-Saxon, 
English and American writings and authors, from A.D. 
597 to our day ; their ultimate percentages will show the 
origin of the English language. 

Prof. Draper tells us, in the preface of his excellent work, 
entitled "Intellectual Development of Europe:" "We 
gain a more just and thorough appreciation of the thoughts 



6 Preface. 

and motives of men in successive ages of the world." In 
conformity with this idea, we divide our essay into Cen- 
turies, not only to appreciate men's thoughts, but to show 
the gradual progress of a superior language, in which, 
according to Home Tooke, " all science whatever must 
center." 

We started this investigation with intent to show the 
inferiority of the English language as compared with 
Greek, Latin, French, and German ; but, finding that it 
contains the cream and essence of its predecessors and 
cotemporaries, that its grammar is simpler than any we 
have studied, and that its records and literature are more 
successive and complete than those of any other tongue — 
we must acknowledge the fact, in order to be true to our 
convictions. You have but to follow our account from 
century to century, and you cannot help being convinced 
of the truth of every statement. As we think " the agita- 
tion of thought is the beginning of wisdom," we hope our 
analysis will be thoroughly and fairly scrutinized and com- 
mented on. 

Behold our linguistic classification, slightly modified 
from that used by previous philologists : 

r Thraco-Pelasgic or Greco-Latin Family. 
Ario-Japhetic Scytho-Gotho-Germanic " 

Gomcro-Celtic " 

Sarmato-Sclavonic " 



Type: 

Ario-Semitic 



\ 



\ Semitic Family. 



Type: 
Ario-Hamitic Type : 

This classification is based on the writings of eminent 
ancient, Medieval and modern authors. The above terms 



Preface. 7 

are long and cumbersome, but they may be tolerated and 
excused, when it is considered that they cover and include 
not only Balbi's 31 families, but Humboldt's and Bromme's 
900 languages, of which 53 belong to Europe, 157 to 
Asia, 125 to Africa, 445 to America, and 120 to Oceanica. 
Even the 5,000 dialects admitted by the German savant 
may find room in our three comprehensive linguistic, 
Genealogic, Historic and Geographic Types, founded on 
the Pentateuch, Zendavesta, Vedas and Popol Vuh — on 
Homer, Herodotus, Strabo, Pliny, Josephus, Tacitus, 
Ximenes, Lavoisne, Renan, Schleicher, Max Muller, Raw- 
linson, etc. 

We prefer the above division, because its terms are his- 
toric and ethnologic, and not geographic, as Indo-Euro- 
pean, Indo- Germanic, and the like ; and because its roots : 
ar, la; sent, sam ; Am, Ham, Cham, have an immense 
linguistic and patronymic range, not limited by any river, 
mountain, country, or part of the world, but used as names 
of mankind's gods, heroes, pioneers, or watchwords. 
. We divide the English language, from its formation to 
our day, into three periods : 

Anglo-Saxon period from A.D. 449 to 1200. 
Franco-English " " " 1200 to 1600. 
English " " ", 1600 to 1878. 

The object of this work, to which the author has de- 
voted his leisure hours for thirty years, is : 

I. To lay before the English-speaking populations, in 

both hemispheres, the real origin and progress of 
their language ; 

II. To make the coming generation realize the superi- 



8 Preface. 

ority of their idiom over others, as to the refine- 
ment and vigor of its vocabulary, clearness of dic- 
tion, simplicity in grammar, and directness in con- 
struction ; 

III. To show the inconsistency of so-called English 
orthography ; 

IV. To suggest a method to write and print English as 

it is pronounced, and remove the few remaining 
irregularities from its grammar ; 

V. Last, to stimulate the English-speaking millions all 

over the globe, so to simplify the uttering, writing 
and printing of their language as to make it a 
desideratum for universal adoption. 

JOHN A. WEISSE, M.D. 

30 W. 15TH St., New York, 1878. 



INTRODUCTION 



In Sharon Turner's " History of the Anglo-Saxons " we read : 
"To explore the history of any language is a task peculiarly 
difficult at this period of the world, in which we are so remote 
from the era of its construction. We have as yet witnessed no 
people in the act of forming their language, and cannot therefore 
from experience demonstrate the simple elements from which a 
language begins, nor the additional organization which it grad- 
ually receives." 

We assent to this statement, when applied to any of the ancient 
idioms, as Sanscrit, Hebrew, Arabic, Phenician, Etruscan, Celtic, 
Gothic, Sclavonic, etc.; but Anglo-Saxon, mother of English, being 
a dialect whose vocabulary and literature are historic, we shall 
endeavor to show its "simple elements" and trace " the addi- 
tional organization which it gradually receives." To perform 
this " task peculiarly difficult at this period of the world" we ask 
and answer the following questions : 

I. What was the language of the three Gotho-Germanic tribes, 
Jutes, Saxons, and Angles, who settled hi Britain from A.D. 449 
to 586, and formed the Anglo-Saxon dialect ? 

II. Where did the Anglo-Saxon dialect, mother of English, 
originate ? 

III. What was the language in England from A.D. 597, when 
the Anglo-Saxon code of Ethelbert, King of Kent, was written — 
to A. D. 1 154, when the "Saxon Chronicle " was stopped and 
Anglo-Saxon ceased to be a written language ? 

IV. What was the language in England from A.D. 1154 to 
Shakespeare, 1600? 

V. What was its progress from A.D. 1600 to 1878 ? 

To answer the first and second question, there being no 



10 Introduction. 

Gotho-Germanic writings of that period, we compare the earliest 
Ario-Japhetic and Ario-Semitic roots and words to arrive at the 
origin of the Anglo-Saxon dialect, formed by the three Gotho- 
Germanic tribes. To answer the three other questions, when there 
are Gotho-Germanic writings, we select, from century to century, 
Anglo-Saxon, English and American writers of different styles 
and on different subjects, take extracts, arrange the words under 
appropriate headings, and arrive at numeric results. Again, from 
these tables of ioo words each we drop repetitions, choose the 
different nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs of quality, and parti- 
cles, place them in separate columns, and thus reach ultimate 
totals, which must irrevocably settle the origin and progress of 
the English language. Poetry and prose, the pulpit, the forum, 
the university, the press, school and lecture room, furnish their 
quota to this analysis. 

We are convinced there are thousands, who desire satisfactory 
answers to the above questions, language being a nation's intel- 
lectual and moral mirror. To those who sincerely seek knowl- 
edge, we present tables and columns of Anglo-Saxon and English 
words ; to those who, from prejudice, ignorance or want of proper 
research, parade the terms Anglo-Saxon, Teutonic, Norman or 
Norman-French, and think they have exhausted the subject, we 
offer linguistic transitions with percentages. We thought long 
and earnestly, till we reached this new method of analyzing the 
English language and literature. If it affords as much pleasure 
to readers as it did to the author, who, at the age of thirty, knew 
not a word of English, his labor of thirty years will be amply 
rewarded. He offers it to the English-speaking populations as a 
linguistic monument to supply an educational want, hoping it 
will find its way into schools, colleges, and universities. 

A progression of fourteen centuries is a curious linguistic phe- 
nomenon, if we consider the Dark Ages through which Anglo- 
Saxon had to pass. 

As every social change, new science, art, invention and mech- 
anism requires and fosters peculiar devices and trades, and thus 
contributes technic terms and words, we cursorily allude to each, 
so as to show, as much as possible, the time and place, when 
and where, the additions came into the language. 

Those who will carefully read our Extracts, Tables, Synopses, 



Introduction. 1 1 

and Ultimate Numeric Results, together with our remarks and 
notes, as they occur from century to century and from period to 
period, will not only learn the origin and progress of the English 
language and literature, but the style of the different authors, the 
changes in orthography and grammar, also the gradual disuse of 
certain words and phrases, as the language gained directness and 
clearness, and became less involved in its construction, which 
has been and is now the besetting defect of the Gotho-Germanic 
idioms. About A.D. 1066 an influx of words from a different 
and more advanced family of languages, unconformable to the 
Anglo-Saxon grammar, compelled a relinquishment of odd in- 
flexions and arbitrary declensions. Conjugation and construc- 
tion were simplified, shortened, and generalized to suit the new 
comers. Here was the knell of Anglo-Saxon stagnation and the 
dawn of English progress. The great linguist, Jacob Grimm, 
consoles Anglo-Saxon enthusiasts by assuring them that modern 
English gained in spiritual maturity what it may have lost in 
Anglo-Saxon inflexions. After all, language is the truest gauge 
of a nation's advancement. 

There is no doubt that Shakespeare and Milton settled the 
character of the English idiom from about 1600 to 1670. From 
our analysis of the Anglo-Saxon dialect through its transition 
into the present composite English language, we infer, that 
Ethelbert of A.D. 600 could hardly have conversed with Ethelred 
II., A.D. 1000; that Egbert of A.D. 828 could not have easily 
read Chaucer's " Canterbury Tales,' 7 of 1380 ; and should Alfred 
the Great suddenly appear at Queen Victoria's court and address 
Her Majesty in the Anglo-Saxon of his day, some linguist would 
have to be called in to interpret the distinguished stranger's 
idiom. Hence Sir Charles Ly ell's saying : " None of the tongues 
now spoken were in existence ten centuries ago," is literally 
true. 

The changes of the Anglo-Saxon dialect from Ethelbert, A.D. 
597, to Chaucer, 1380, were striking; from Chaucer, 1380, to 
Shakespeare, 1600, they were less so ; and from 1600 to our day, 
they were comparatively slight, as may be realized by our Tables. 
Shakespeare, with his varied conceptions, did not burst the 
mould of England's dialect ; for some admirer counted the words 
in his writings and states them to be 15,000; probably Mrs. 



12 Introduction. 

Cowden Clark, who made a concordance of Shakespeare's works. 
Milton did not exhaust his native tongue, for he only employs 
8,000 words. We are told that the translation of the Scriptures, 
under James I., 1611, required 773,746 words, about nine-tenths 
of which are proper names, repetitions, and particles ; that the 
insignificant word and occurs 46,219 times; and that few good 
authors use to, 000 words, while ordinary people employ but 
3,000, which is but a fraction of the 80,000 popular, scientific 
and technical words mentioned in Noah Webster's preface to 
his Dictionary of 1840, in which he says : "It has been my aim 
in this work to furnish a standard of our vernacular tongue, 
which we shall not be ashamed to bequeath to five hundred 
millions of people, who are destined to occupy and hope to 
adorn the vast territory within our jurisdiction." Since then 
Texas, California and Alaska were added. 

Stenographers found that 1,500 words sufficed for a long 
evening's debate in the English Parliament. Trench, in his 
" Study of Words" corroborates the superiority of language over 
authors in this felicitous strain : " Far more, and mightier in 
every way, is a language than any one of the works which may 
have been composed in it ; for that work, great as it may be, is 
but the embodying of the mind of a single man — this, of a nation. 
The Iliad is great, yet not so great in strength, or power, or 
beauty, as the Greek language. Paradise Lost is a noble pos- 
session for a people to have inherited, but the English tongue is 
a nobler heritage yet." 

English, now the easiest language as to grammar, combining 
the elegance of the Greco-Latin with the vigor of the Gotho- 
Germanic tongues, would be ready for universal adoption, if the 
English-speaking peoples would adopt the plain phonographic 
German rule : " Write as you pronoimce, and pronounce as you 
write" In other words, write the same letter or letters for one 
and the same sound, wherever that sound is required, and utter 
the same sound for the same letter or letters wherever you find 
them. This same rule has been applied over two thousand 
years to Greek and Latin, not only by the nations of continental 
Europe, but of Asia, Africa, and South America. A Greek or 
Latin scholar from any part of the world, except England and 
the United States, can converse in those languages ; because, 



Introduction. 13 

among all, Greek and Latin are writtefi as they are pronounced, 
a?id pronoimced as they are written. Strange, the Isle of Britain 
and North America should stand in their own light, and attempt 
to carry their inconsistent pronunciation into those classic idioms, 
which ought to be a sacred universal linguistic medium for the 
educated of all climes, whether from Oxford, Paris, Berlin, Mecca, 
Fez, Harvard, or Rio Janeiro. This so-called English pronun- 
ciation of Greek and Latin has not as yet obtained in Ireland, 
where a classic student from any part of the world except Oxford 
or Yale, can attend divine service and understand every word 
uttered by the officiating priest ; so can they in the Convent of 
Mount St. Bernard, or of Mount Carmel. Is it not high time 
the English and Americans should awake, not only from their 
nightmare pronunciation of Greek and Latin, but from the dis- 
harmony between letter and sound in their own superior language, 
whose universal adoption is thereby retarded ? We are told, the 
German phonographic rule would be impossible in English. If 
it has been possible for centuries in German, Greek and Latin, 
why should it be impossible in English or any other language ? 

As to the destiny of the English language, the ninety millions 
who speak it in Europe, America, Asia, Africa, and Oceanica, are 
fully aw T are of its capacity to become the universal linguistic 
medium, which may be realized by looking at the map of North 
America, where the English idiom has, within twenty-five years, 
spread from the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific and 
Behring's Straits, and displaced the Spanish, French, Indian and 
Russian dialects. Cuba, St. Domingo, Mexico, Central America, 
the Sandwich and Navigator's Islands, are feeling its influence 
and desire its sway ; even exclusive China and Japan seem to 
lean more and more towards America and the English language 
across the Pacific. Thus the tide of empire is not only westward, 
but eastward; it meets and mingles in America. 

G. P. Marsh, in his " Lectures on the English Language," p. 
121, says: "In order to arrive at satisfactory conclusions on 
this point {origin of the English language} , more thorough and 
extensive research is necessary." In our extracts and tables the 
" more thorough and extensive research " urged by Mr. Marsh 
will be found. There we even supply the want felt by the eru- 
dite lecturer, when he says, p. 122 : "I have made no attempt 



14 Introduction. 

to assign words, not of Anglo-Saxon origin, to their respective 
sources." We made the attempt, and found that the "respective 
sources'' 1 of the English vocabulary are: Anglo-Saxon, Gothic, 
Danish, Swedish, German, Dutch, Flemish* and Icelandic ; 
Welch, Cornish, Scotch, Irish, and Armoric ; Greek, Latin, French, 
Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese ; Russian ; Arabic, Hebrew and 
Aramaic. Hence a careful perusal of this analysis will enable 
any reader to learn, that the English of to-day is a compound of 
twenty-three idioms, ancient and modern, dead and living. No 
wonder Wilberforce says: ''English is a composite language." 
To realize that the English dialect has added from six to sixty- 
eight per cent, of Greco-Latin since Alfred the Great must 
prove interesting to the English-speaking millions all over the 
globe. 

Of all sciences, the sublimest — language — is the most compli- 
cated and inconsistent, not for want of votaries, but for want of 
strictly scientific analysis and synthesis. In our tables, let the 
reader compare the words of the Greco-Latin and the Anglo- 
Saxon columns, and he will find, that nearly all the Greco-Latin 
are words of progress, civilization, and refinement ; whereas al- 
most one-half of the Anglo-Saxon are insignificant particles and 
words of primary necessity. According to Tyrwhit's "Essay on 
the Language and Versification of Chaucer," p. 7, the French 
element in the Anglo-Saxon dialect began with the accession 
of Edward the Confessor, A.D. 1042, and not, as usually asserted, 
with the so-called Norman Conquest, which but hastened the 
fusion of the two idioms. 

In our analysis we fully realize what Mr. Marsh says, p. 122 : 
"Words of original Latin etymology have been, in the great 
majority of instances, borrowed from the French, and are still 
used in forms more in accordance with the French than with the 
Latin orthography." No wonder the English, under Edward the 
Confessor, ceased to cultivate Anglo-Saxon and introduced 
French. Swinton's adage, "When a tongue becomes petrified, 
the national mind walks out of it," was fully realized under Har- 
dicanute. The Anglo-Saxon dialect was too poor and contracted 
for an Anglo-French population, who mixed the two idioms in 
such proportions as suited their progress in morals, literature, 
science, art, commerce, and civilization. As they progressed 



Introduction, 15 

from Egbert to Victoria, their language advanced towards its 
present standard of excellence. 

The English character is a happy mixture of Celtic wit, Franco- 
Norman daring, and Germanic gravity, tinged with a peculiar 
love of enterprise and distant adventure. Perhaps the varied tri- 
bal and national elements, that engendered the English, together 
with their hazy island home, tended to produce a race distin- 
guished for sagacious eclecticism, not only in science, art, me- 
chanics, and manufactures, but in language. 

The English idiom is the cream and essence of the Ario-Japhe- 
tic dialects : it contains the choicest Greco-Latin, Gotho-Ger- 
manic and Celtic elements — a happy medium between French 
and German ; more grave than the former, less guttural, harsh, 
inverted and cumbersome than the latter ; grammatically simpler 
than either ; but very capricious in its orthoepy and phonography, 
which might be easily modified. Vowels and consonants are so 
felicitously combined in English, that the dwellers of the frigid 
and torrid zones can articulate and speak it with comparative 
ease. 

Before we close this introductory survey of the English-speak- 
ing millions, let us cite a passage from that most erudite living 
philologist, Max Miiller : " Why certain words die and others 
live on, why certain meanings of words become prominent, so as 
to cause the absorption of all the other meanings, we have no 
chance to explain. We must take the work of language as we 
find it, and in disentangling the curious skein we must not expect 
to find one continuous thread, but rest satisfied, if we can sepa- 
rate the broken ends, and place them side by side in something 
like an intelligent order." We shall endeavor to disentangle 
" the curious skein " of the English language, and unroll it in 
"one continuous thread," without separating or replacing "any 
broken ends." 

Some ideas and events connected with the British Isles prior 
to the advent of the Gotho-Germanic tribes, Jutes, Saxons, and 
Angles, who formed England, would not be out of place here, 
before we undertake to give the Origin, Progress and Destiny 
of the English Language and Literature. 

Britain had attracted the attention of Europe, Africa and Asia, 
as may be realized by observing a series of singular events and 



1 6 Introduction . 

circumstances j for not only the refined nations of genial climes, 
but the rude hyperborean tribes looked to Albion as a source of 
heroism and intellectual light. Strabo informs us that the com- 
merce of Britain had become so profitable to the Phenicians that 
Rome tried to compete; consequently a Roman galley watched 
the course of a Phenician shipmaster, who, perceiving it, would 
rather wreck his vessel than go to Britain. For this patriotic 
deed the Phenician was rewarded by his country. The rich tin 
mines of Cornwall had for ages attracted the Phenicians and Car- 
thaginians to the British Isles, which, on that account, were called 
" Cassiterides" from Kassirepos, tin, 

Cesar, the greatest Roman general, had used 30,000 veterans 
and 800 vessels to invade Albion and defeat Casivellaunus, one 
of the British Kings B.C. 55; yet Tacitus says: "Cesar only 
gave the Romans a view, not a possession of Britain." Insults, 
offered to Boadicea and her daughters by the licentious Catus, 
roused the Iceni, who killed 70,000 Romans ; but ultimately the 
heroic British Queen succumbed at the head of her people, and 
took poison to avoid falling into the hands of the victors. Such 
events were surely calculated to turn, not only Rome's, but the 
world's attention towards Britain. Of all that happened in the 
British Isles, the capture of the brave Caractacus (Caradoc), who 
fought the Roman legions nine years, deserves particular men- 
tion : carried prisoner to Rome, the unfortunate British monarch 
astonished by his dignified bearing the Emperor Claudius, who 
ordered his fetters to be removed and treated him and his family 
with magnanimity. That scene, so vividly and grandly related 
by Tacitus (annal. lib. xii. 33-39), merits perusal. 

It seems the British Royal family had embraced Christi- 
anity and fostered it through St. Paul, who, in his second Epis- 
tle to Timothy iv. 21, mentions Linus (Lleyn), son of Claudia 
(Gladys), daughter of Caractacus; also Pudens, husband of 
Claudia, all of whom had become converts and friends of St. Paul 
in Rome. 

When voices whisper to us, not only from distant Asia, but 
from Gaul, that St. Paul preached in Britain, we cannot help as- 
certaining, as much as possible, a historic fact so interesting to 
England's and America's ninety English-speaking millions of the 
present day. Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrus in Syria (A.D. 420- 



Introduction. 17 

451), says in his (Com. on II. Timothy) : "When Festus sent 
Paul to Rome, the Apostle, after his acquittal, traveled to Spain 
and other countries and to Islands beyond the sea." Elsewhere 
the same author writes : il After Paul was released at Rome, he 
preached to the Britons and other nations in the west." We also 
read in (Demonstr. Evang. lib. 3) of Eusebius, Bishop of Cesarea 
(A.D. 324) : "The Apostle went beyond the Ocean to the British 
Isles." These strong and unimpeachable oriental voices go far 
to prove that St. Paul went to Britain ; especially when we con- 
sider that Fortunatus, Bishop of Poitiers (A.D. 560-609), says: 
St. Paul "crossed the Ocean and landed in an Island which 
Britannus held." 

As to Joseph of Arimathea, the Virgin Mary, and other co- 
temporaries of Christ and His apostles, having gone to Britain, 
we leave others to prove. Linus, Claudia, JPudens, being named 
in II. Timothy shows, that Paul knew the British Royal family 
at Rome, which, coupled with the testimony of the eastern and 
western Bishops, form a pretty strong proof that he was in Britain. 
Thence we realize, that the misfortunes of Caractacus formed a 
glittering link in the chain of western civilization and progress. 
Had Caractacus remained in Britain and ruled quietly over the 
Silures, he would not have astonished Rome's Emperor and 
senate by his lofty conduct, and could not have had that bril- 
liant page in the history of Tacitus. His daughter, Claudia, 
would not have become the illustrious Roman matron, whose 
palace was the asylum of persecuted Christians ; neither would 
his son, Linus, have been successor to Peter as Bishop of Rome. 
That the Linus mentioned here was brother to Claudia, is proved 
by this statement in B. hi. C. I. of St. Ireneus, Bishop of Lyons, 
about A.D. 190 : " After the Apostles had established the church 
at Rome, they intrusted its supervision to Linus, who is the 
Linus named by Paul in his Epistles to Timothy." This passage 
in the earliest of the western Fathers, not only corroborates, but 
establishes the friendship and connection between St. Paul, Linus, 
Claudia, and Pudens. This chain of allusions to St. Paul, his 
travels and friends in western Europe, should and must prove 
somewhat of a damper to those, who consider it a mark of 
scholarship to sneer at and question the authenticity of the New 
Testament. We read in the Saxon Chronicle : " Pope Eleuthe- 



1 8 Introduction. 

rius sent missionaries to Britain at the request of Lucius, king 
of the Britons, A.D. 190." 

Britain saw among her Prelates the first western Protestant 
against papal dictation. That Protestant was Pelagius whose 
family name was Morgan. It is said he was born at Bangor, 
where (about A.D. 400) he became Prior of the renowned Abbey, 
over whose gates was engraved : " If a man will not work, 
neither let him eat," which in other words was but a repetition 
of Gen. hi., 19: "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat 
bread." The venerable Bede and other writers tell us, that in 
the Abbey of Bangor were two thousand monks, each of whom 
had to earn a living by some kind of handwork. Had the 
Medieval and modern priesthood held to this golden rule, they 
would never have become so idle and corrupt ; and there would 
have been neither mendicant friars, nor inquisitorial Dominicans. 
Pelagius was one of the most erudite scholars of his epoch ; he 
was not only versed in ancient, but in Celtic lore. He admired 
Origen and was opposed to Augustine of Hippo. In his fourth 
book on " Free Will" written against St. Jerome, his principal 
tenets may be epitomized thus : 

1. Adam was created mortal and would have died, whether he 
would have sinned or not. 

2. Adam's transgression only attached to himself, and not to 
his posterity. 

3. The law as well as the Gospel led men to Heaven. 

4. Before Christ's advent men were without sin. 

5. Infants are in the same state where Adam was before his fall. 

6. Mankind neither dies on account of Adam's death and pre- 
varication, nor resuscitates through Christ's resurrection. 

7. Man is born without sin and can easily obey God's com- 
mands, if he wishes. 

When the Bishops of Gaul and Italy, at whose head figured 
the Bishop of Rome, urged him to recant, Pelagius replied : 
"Sola in Britannia Ecclesia Britannica Judex" (In Britain the 
church alone is the British Judge). Although the life of this bold 
reformer had been without blemish, he was thenceforth styled 
heretic and deposed by a synod of Winchester. He resigned the 
Abbey of Bangor and visited Rome, whence he passed to Africa 
with Celestius, the most learned and zealous of his adherents. 



Introduction. 19 

He tarried but a short time in Africa, left Celestius, who fixed 
his residence at Carthage and taught the new doctrines, while 
Pelagius went to the Orient, where he dogmatized. His opinions 
were denounced in the Council of Diospolis. The Fathers of 
that assembly anathematized them and forced the author to 
retract ; but this retraction did not change his mind. He was 
condemned again A.D. 415, by the council of Carthage. The 
Bishops of those councils sent their judgment to Pope Innocent 
I., who joined them in excommunicating him. Shortly after the 
Pope died, Pelagius wrote to his successor, Zosimus, and sent 
Celestius to induce him to repeal the anathema against himself 
and his friend. Zosimus received the apology, but assembled 
his Bishops and priests, who condemned the Pelagian doctrines, 
while they approved his resolution to recant. Zosimus accepted a 
confession of faith from Pelagius, and wrote to the African 
Bishops in his favor. These prelates formed a new council at 
Carthage A.D. 417; it consisted of 217 Bishops, who ordained 
that the sentence, pronounced against Pelagius and Celestius by 
Pope Innocent I., should stand, till they had anathematized the 
Pelagian errors. Zosimus consented, confirmed the Council's 
judgment and condemned the two friends in the sense of his 
predecessor. 

The Emperor Honorius, informed of these proceedings, decreed 
that the Pelagians should be treated as heretics, and that Pelagius 
and Celestius should be banished from Rome as heresiarchs and 
disturbers. This rescript is dated April 30, A.D. 418. On the 
first of May following a general Council assembled at Carthage, 
in which shone Augustine of Hippo. They formed nine articles 
of an anathema against the Pelagian sect. The Bishops, who 
refused to subscribe, were deposed by ecclesiastic judges and 
driven from their bishoprics by Imperial authority. Pelagius, 
obliged to quit Rome, retired to Jerusalem, where he found no 
asylum ; and it is not known at what time and place he died. 
Perhaps he was spirited away? We read that his persecutors 
were wont to say : " Speak not to Pelagius or he will convert 
you." Surely no greater eulogy could attach to any mortal. Of 
his numerous works, written in elegant Latin, only fragments 
remain. Great Britain's clergy and laity must ever feel proud 
of this early champion and martyr of the liberty of conscience. 



20 Introduction. 

Orosius, pupil and friend of St. Augustine, figured in that con- 
troversy ; for, while studying with St. Jerome in Palestine, where 
Pelagius preached his doctrines, he was called to oppose them in 
the Synod of Jerusalem, July 30 A.D. 415. To this learned 
Spanish prelate we owe " Ab Initio Mundi usque in presentem 
Diem" A.D. 416. (From the beginning of the world to the 
present day), which Alfred the Great translated into Anglo-Saxon 
with valuable additions to his own epoch. This work by Orosius 
is also called " Historiarum Libri VII. adversus Paganos." 

Julian, Bishop of Eclanum, Italy, and seventeen other Bishops 
protested against the Council's decree. The Pope condemned 
them all ; they appealed to a general Council ; but Augustine, 
the most vehement adversary of Pelagius, claimed that their 
appeal was a sham. Julian died A.D. 450, after having been 
expelled from his diocese, excommunicated by the Pope and 
proscribed by the Emperor. Of course the Roman hierarchy 
congratulated themselves on their triumph, which even the Eng- 
lish church endorsed in her 9th article, condemning the Pelagian 
tenets concerning original sin ; but how stands this dogma with 
Universalists Unitarians, and liberal Christians of all denomina- 
tions ? 

This early mental activity, starting in Britain and extending to 
Africa and Asia, though not directly connected with the English 
nation or language, prepared the way for their future develop- 
ment and expansion. The principle of self-reliance, so persist- 
ently advocated by Pelagius, has ever animated the English- 
speaking Populations : this fundamental principle is thus ex- 
pressed by the early British writer Gildas in his " Excidio Britan- 
nia." " He that will be a prophet of God, must never rest, till 
he has traced everything to its cause and mode of operation." 
Roger Bacon, Wicklirfe, Tindale, Ridley, Newton, Franklin, Tom 
Paine, Channing, and in our day Darwin, Tyndall, Huxley, 
Emerson, etc., are eminent representatives of man's free agency. 
The idea, that man's salvation or ruin depends on his own choice, 
commission or omission did not originate with the Jews, who 
passively looked to Jehovah for every thing ; — not with the Brah- 
mins, who practiced abnegation and inertia ; — not with the Magi, 
who believed in mere contemplation ; — not with the Greeks and 
Romans, who had Gods and Goddesses for every thing ; — not 



Introduction. 21 

with the Gotho-Gerraanic tribes, who delighted in fighting, rov- 
ing, plundering, and wild adventure, both here and hereafter. 
Whence then came to the Medieval and modern nations, especi- 
ally to the English-speaking Populations, the fundamental idea 
of man's selfhood? Cesar alone answers this question satisfac- 
torily, when he tells us in his Com. lib. 3 : "The Druids discuss 
many things concerning the stars and their revolutions, the mag- 
nitude of the globe and its various divisions, the nature of the 
universe, the energy and power of the immortal Gods." Hence 
we are indebted to the Celts for the idea of individual observa- 
tion, investigation and research in mechanics, art and science, 
without regard to morals or religion, pope or king. 

In this age Palladius, sent to Ireland by Pope Celestine, con- 
verted the Scots or Irish to Christianity A.D. 430, and became 
their first Bishop. Even to this day the Scotch and Irish honor 
Palladius as a Saint. St. Patrick took the place of Palladius 
434. St. Patrick has ever been a central figure in the Irish 
mind ; and the 17th of March has been celebrated by Irishmen 
in all parts of the world. This gratitude to their earliest bene- 
factor, who carried to them "peace, good will toward men," is a 
pleasant tribute and does credit to the Irish character. Thence- 
forth civilization began to take root in the British Isles, whence 
it soon spread to the continent through Anglo-Saxon and Irish 
missionaries. 

The clans of Scotland united and established a government 
under their first King Fergus L, who warred against the Romans 
and Britons about A.D. 411. When the Roman legions left 
Britain A.D. 420, those clans styled Picts and Scots so harassed 
the Britons that they invited Gotho-Germanic auxiliaries to resist 
the northern foes. 



ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD, A.D. 449-1200. 



FIFTH CENTURY. 



" The only means, by which nations can indulge their curiosity in researches concerning 
their remote origin, is to consider the language, manners and customs of their ancestors, and 
compare them with those of neighboring nations." — Hume. 

The fifth century saw three Gotho-Germanic tribes, known to 
Roman and Medieval historians as : Jati, Saxones and Angli 
(Jutes, Saxons and Angles), dwelling in Chersonesus Cimbrica, 
(Jutland). Bede, in his Ecclesiastic History, A.D. 730, speaks 
of the Jutes and Goths as synonymous. The Anglo-Saxons 
called them Iutas, Iotas or Geotas. We read in the early British 
and Anglo-Saxon records, that a body of Jutes* sailed in three 
small vessels, under the brothers Hengist and Horsa, and landed 
at Ebsfleet in the Isle of Thanet, about A.D, 449 ; — that Vorti- 
gern, King of the Britons, harassed by the Picts and Scots, 

* The name yutes sprang from the following phonetic, alphabetic and 
linguistic changes : Herodotus' 'SkvOcu or ^.koXotoi 1500 B.C., and Term 440 
B.C. ; Aristotle's KsAro: (Celts) 336 B.C. ; Ptolemy's Tourai A.D. 160;— 
Latin Scythes, Scoti, Getce, Celtcs, Gotkones, Gothi, Gothinii, Gutcs, lutes, 
or luti ; — Anglo-Saxon Geotas, Iotas or Iutas ; — French Scythes, Ecossais, 
Celtes, Goths, lutes or yutes ; — German Scythen, Schotten, Kelten, Gothen. 
liiten ; — English Scythians, Scots, Celts, Goths, lutes or Jutes. In Ethel - 
werd's Latin Chronicle in the nth century the Jutes are called " Gioti." Thus 
Herodotus, the Father of history, called those primitive hyperborean tribes 
SkvBcu or ~2,ko\otoi and Ferai 440 B.C. ; the Romans named them and their 
descendants Scythes, Celtcs, Scoti, Getce about A.D. 100. Hence the most 
erudite archeologists have good reason to think that the Celts and Scythians 
sprang from one and the same Asiatic stock ; especially, when Herodotus tells 
them (B. iv., 6 and 7), that 1500 B.C. the Scythians were named Skolotoi, 
from a surname of their king, but the Greeks called them Scythians. 



24 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

welcomed the Jutes as auxiliaries, and gave them as a reward for 
their services the Isle of Thanet; and that soon Hengist's 
daughter married the British monarch. 

The earliest English bard, Robert of Gloucester, thus alludes 
to this royal couple A.D. 1280 : 

" Kuste hire & sitte hire adoune, & glad dronke hire heil ; 
And that in this land the verst ' was — hail ' ! 
As in language of Saxoyne, that we might evere iwite ; 
And so well he paieth the folc about, that he is not yut vorgute." 

Thus beautifully paraphrased by Robert Burns' friend, Captain 
Grose : 

" Health, my Lord King, the sweet Rowena said ; 
Health, cry'd the chieftain to the Saxon maid ; 
Then gayly rose and, 'mid the concourse wide, 
Kissed her hale lips and plac'd her by his side ; 
At the soft scene such gentle thoughts abound, 
That health and kisses 'mongst the guests went round ; 
From this the social custom takes its rise, 
We still retain and still must keep the prize." 

Soon the Gothic allies became onerous to Vortigern's subjects, 
who refused supplies and ordered them to leave the country. A 
war ensued with varied chances ; but as reinforcements con- 
stantly arrived from Jutland, the Britons were overwhelmed by 
numbers and driven from their country, which the Jutes formed 
into the Kingdom of Kent under Hengist, A.D. 455. Later 
they added to it a part of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The 
Jutes invited their former neighbors the Saxons and Angles to 
join them in a country more pleasant and fertile than the one 
they inhabited ; consequently these tribes prepared for emigration : 

Ella, with a band of Saxons,* started from Germany, landed 

* The name Saxons arose from the following phonetic, alphabetic and lin- 
guistic transitions : Sanscrit Sakas ; — Persian Tchaka ; — Mongolian Tscha- 
kars ; — Tartar Sakars ; — Greek 2o/cot, 'Sasoves in Asia, and 2a£a>j/es in 
Europe ; — Latin Sacce, Sacani and Saxoncs ; — Anglo-Saxon Seacsa and 
Seaxa ; — German Sassen and Sachsen ; — French Saciens and Saxons ; — 
English Sacians and Saxons. Thus Herodotus called this primitive Asiatic 
people 2a«ai (Sacians) 440 B.C.; whereas Ptolemy styled their descendants 
'SaKcu, and Sasoves in Asia, and 2a£coves in Europe, about A.D. 160. From 
the analogy of these names commentators had good reason to consider the 



Fifth Century. 25 

on the southern coast of Britain about A.D. 477, and after a 
long contest with the natives, succeeded in establishing the 
Kingdom of Sussex about 491. 

In this century the Snevi (Suabians) Alani, Va?idah, Burgun- 
dians, Franks and Goths, pressed by the Huns on the East, 
abandoned their respective countries in Germany and went west- 
ward. From A.D. 406 to 428 the Suevi (Suabians), Alani and 
Vandals passed through Gaul to Spain, which they conquered 
and became Christians. The Suevi, under Hermeneric, founded 
a Kingdom in Galicia. The Alani, under Atax, established their 
Kingdom in Lusitania, now Portugal, and the Vandals, under 
Godegisit, settled in Betica, which they named Vandalitia, now 
Andalusia. The Burgundians went to Gaul, founded the King- 
dom of Burgundy, became Christians, A.D. 417, and soon showed 
a disposition for progress in the arts of civilized life. About 
A.D. 420, the Franks settled in Gaul, where they founded the 
Kingdoms of Austrasia and Soissons, which Clovis united A.D. 
486 and named the country France. In 493 he married the 
accomplished Burgundian Princess, Clotilda, who was a Christian 
and converted him and the Franks to Christianity, A.D. 496. 
The Goths of Moesia, Thrace and Dacia (now Servia, Bulgaria 
and Valachia on the lower Danube), received the Gospel from 
their apostle Ulfilas, A.D. 376. As Ulfilas cherished the doc- 
trines of Arius, opposed to the " Trinity" the Goths were " Uni- 
tarians." They, soon after becoming Christians, abandoned 
their roving life and cultivated mother Earth, which ever softens 
fierceness and inclines men to domestic and civilized habits. 
With the moral example of their pious bishop before them, and 
the gospel he preached, it took but forty years to so improve and 
enlighten them, that they dropt their former savage state, and 
discovered the abject condition of the Greek and Roman pea- 
santry and the tyranny and injustice of those, who oppressed 
them. Alaric was a favorite with the Emperor Theodosius ; but 
he revolted against the intolerance of his weak and vacillating 
son, Arcadius, who tried to persecute the followers of Arius. 

Sacians and Saxons synonymous and of Scythian origin ; especially, when 
Herodotus (B. vii., 64) says: "This people, though really the Amyrgii of 
Scythia, were called Sacians, the name given by the Persians to all Scy- 
thians." 



26 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

Thus Alaric became the defender and champion of the faith of 
his countrymen. He overran the Eastern Empire, took Corinth, 
and after varied fortunes invaded Italy and reached effeminate 
Rome, whose palaces he pillaged, but scrupulously spared the 
public buildings and churches, A.D. 410. Afterwards they spread 
over Italy and France, where, under Theodoric I., son of Alaric 
and King of Aquitania, they joined the Romans against Attila, 
whom they defeated on the plains of Chalons, and checked the 
devastation of the Huns, A.D. 451. Theodoric was killed in 
this memorable battle, and his son Theodoric II., succeeded him 
in the Kingdom of Aquitania, — capital Toulouse, whence he ex- 
tended his sway to Spain, A.D. 456. Behold what Salvian, a 
priest of Marseilles, who witnessed the invasion of Gaul by the 
Goths, wrote regarding the condition of the Roman Empire at 
that period. His work is entitled "De Gubernatione Dei"* 
{On the Government of God). " In all the cities and villages 
there are as many tyrants as there are officers of the government ; 
they devour the bowels of the citizens and their widows and 
orphans ; public burdens are made the means of private plunder ; 
the collection of the national revenue is made the instrument of 
individual peculation ; none are safe from the devastations of 
these depopulating robbers. The public taxation is partially- 
imposed and arbitrarily levied; hence many desert their farms 
and dwellings to escape the violence of the exactors. — There is 
but one wish among all the Romans : that they might dwell under 
the barbarian government. Thus our brothers, not only refuse 
to leave these nations, but they flee from us to them. Can we 
then wonder, that the Goths are not conquered by us, when the 
people would rather become Goths with them than remain 
Romans with us ? The Roman cities are full of the most dis- 
solute luxury, and the foulest vices and debauchery. It was even 
the fashion for the men to dress themselves as women and to pass 
for such. In this state of evil, the Goths and Vandals, like a 
torrent, overran the Roman Empire and settled themselves in 
their cities and towns ; their speedy corruption was anticipated 
in a population so abandoned ; but, to the astonishment of the 
whole Empire, instead of degenerating into the universal deprav- 

* Patrologiae, vol. v. 



Fifth Century. 27 

ity, they became its moral reformers. The luxuries and vices 
around them excited their disgust and abhorrence. Their own 
native customs were so modest, that, instead of imitating, they 
despised and punished, with all their fierce severity, the impuri- 
ties they witnessed. They made adultery a capital crime, and 
so sternly punished personal debauchery, that a great moral 
change took place in all the provinces they conquered." 

It is remarkable, that the erudite Gibbon, in his " Decline and 
Fall of the Roman Empire" has overlooked this graphic state- 
ment of a cotemporary and an eye-witness, who, living at Mar- 
seilles, saw the status of the Roman Empire better than those 
who were at the capital ; because he came in contact with all 
classes : farmers, soldiers and officials. Salvian, being a Roman 
Catholic priest, could not have been prejudiced in favor of the 
Goths, who were Arians in their Christianity. 

Greek and Roman historians styled our Gotho-Germanic an- 
cestors barbarians. Medieval and modern writers imbibed this 
idea, and it is expressed more or less in our school-books. Even 
Rollin inclines to make the Goths appear barbarous. This may 
all be attributed to papal influence on Medieval literature and 
history ; because the Goths were not of the orthodox faith. Is it 
not time to discard this error and place our ancestors in their 
true light, sustained by their simple virtues, and intrinsic merits, 
as compared with the Romans of that day? It is curious to 
remark, how hard the Arian or Unitarian opinions struggled for 
place during the first centuries of Christianity ; till put down 
by the power of Rome. When its light was finally extinguished 
the " Dark Ages" followed. The religion that the Goths re- 
ceived from Ulfilas was Arian Christianity. The Burgundians 
in France, the Suevi, Alani and Vandals in Spain, and the Goths 
in Italy, France and Spain were all Arian Christians, and were 
persecuted by Rome, because of their rejection of the peculiar 
faith of the Romans. As far as we know, they and their ancestors 
always worshiped one God ; and it was easy to engraft on that 
belief the simple and pure ethics of Christ. 

As the virtuous Bohemian princess Libussa and her consort 
are usually not mentioned in our histories and biographies, we 
allude to them here : Libussa reigned wisely and prosperously 
over Bohemia about A.D. 418, when she found one of her sub- 



28 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

jects named Premislas, a farmer, worthy of her hand. This 
happy couple made beneficent laws for the Bohemians. Thus 
did a sagacious woman advance civilization among the Gotho- 
Germanic and Sclavonic races in central Europe at this early 
period. 

This century also saw Nemesius, bishop of Emesa, who wrote 
a remarkable book, entitled ITepi (/>v'seios avrpoirov (" On the Nature 
of Man"), in which occur advanced ideas on most of the natural 
sciences, especially Anatomy, Physiology, and Psychology. That 
eminent Father of the church shows the whole of Creation as a 
gradual series of phenomena, from the rock to man, which 
accords with Christ's declaration : " From these stones God can 
raise children unto Abraham." In this Genesis Nemesius con- 
siders the magnet, that attracts iron for its nourishment, as the 
transition from the mineral to the vegetable kingdom. It was he 
who first called man " the Microcosm of the Universe." Neme- 
sius was the most scientific of the Christian Fathers. His method 
of thinking and writing is more suggestive than any before him. 
He was to primitive science what Roger Bacon, Copernicus, 
Descartes, Newton, Galileo, and Leibnitz were to modern science. 
In his work we find the errors of stoicism and Manichseism ex- 
posed, and the opinion of pre-existing souls maintained ; but his 
most astonishing conception is that of the circulation of the 
blood, thus commented on (c. 24) : " The motion of the pulse 
takes its rise from the heart, and chiefly from the left ventricle of 
it ; the artery is dilated with great force and contracted by a sort 
of constant harmony and order, &c. . . ." A similar allusion 
is made to the motion of the bile (c. 28), which may have led 
Harvey to the circulation of the blood A.D. 1628, and Silvius to 
that of the bile A.D. 1663. Thus that ancient treatise, written 
in elegant Greek, contains the elements of modern physical and 
metaphysical science, treated in a masterly manner. When we 
consider the time and circumstances of its production, it seems 
almost an inspiration ; for the anonymous " Vestiges of Creation," 
Darwin's " Origin of Species," and most of our late evolution 
theories, whether physical or metaphysical, are but Nemesian 
ideas, emblazoned with the light of modern science ; we mention 
them here, because they are so closely connected with the great 
physiologic discovery of the English Esculapius, Harvey, 1628. 



SIXTH CENTURY. 



"To the honor of the Christian faith be it told that, although deformed by the most ridicu- 
lous and odious superstitions, its general character of benevolence to mankind so far improved 
the minds and dispositions of those nations which embraced it, that from inhuman, lawless 
savages they gradually became decent members of society, addicted themselves to agriculture, 
submitted to legal regularity, and generally laying aside their accustomed practices of murder, 
rapine and violence, resumed them only occasionally at the command of their ambitious 
princes." — Pettit Andrews. 

We read in Ethelwerd's Chronicle, that Cerdic sailed from 
Germany with a colony of Saxons in five vessels, landed at a place 
they called Cerdic' s Ore, about 494, and, after fighting with the 
Britons for twenty-four years, founded the Kingdom of Wessex, 
A.D. 518. 

Erchewin, a Saxon chief, sailed with a third colony to Britain, 
where he founded the Kingdom of Essex, A.D. 527. 

Tacitus, writing of the Angli, A.D. 97, says: " The Angles, 
Varinians, &c. succeed in regular order to the Lombards, all 
defended by rivers or embossed in forests. In these several 
tribes there is nothing, that merits attention, except they all agree 
to worship the goddess Earth, or as they call her Uerth, whom 
they consider as the common mother of all. This divinity, accord- 
ing to their idea, interposes in human affairs, and at times visits 
the several nations on the globe. A sacred Island* in the North- 
ern ocean is dedicated to her. 

About A.D. 547 the Anglesf left their country, called by Bede 



* Some mention Rugen in the Baltic, others Heligoland (Holy Island) in 
the North sea, which latter is the most probable. 

f The name Angles was the result of the following phonetic, alphabetic and 
linguistic changes : Greek AiyAo*, AvyaXoi and AyyiXoi ; Latin Angli A.D. 97 ; 
Anglo-Saxon Engla A.D. 600; Tartar Anglan A.D. 1400; German Anglen 
and Eng lander ; French Angles and Anglais ; Angles and English. Thus 
Herodotus called the Asiatic ancestors of this tribe KvyKoi (Angles) in Central 
Asia 440 B.C. ; whereas Tacitus named their descendants Angli (Angles) in 



30 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

Angulus (now Anglen in Schleswig), landed in the East of Britain. 
and, after long wars with the natives, founded the Kingdoms of : 

Bernicia under Ida A.D. 547 
Deira " Ella " 559 

EastAnglia " Uflfa " 571 
Mercia " Crida " 586 

Southern Britain was called Engla-land after the Angles. 

The venerable Bede, in his Ecclesiastic History, B. II. C. i., 
transmits to us the following conversation, that occurred in 
Rome concerning the Angles about A.D. 580: "In the market 
place of Rome Gregory saw put up for sale, among other things, 
some boys of a white body and fair countenance, and with hair 
of remarkable beauty ; whom when he beheld, he asked from 
what land they were brought. He was told they were brought 
from the Island of Britain, whose inhabitants were of such an 
aspect. Again he asked whether these same Islanders were 
Christians, or still entangled in the errors of Paganism. It was 
said they were Pagans. Then drawing deep sighs from the bot- 
tom of his heart he exclaimed : Alas ! for grief! that the author 
of darkness possesses men of so bright countenance ; and that so 
much grace of aspect bears a mind void of inward grace." He 
further inquired what was the name of that nation ; the reply was : 
they were called Angles. "It is well," he said ; for they have 
an Angelic face ; and such it befits to be co-heirs of Angels in 
Heaven." 

This conversation occurred some years before Gregory became 
Pope. As Tacitus transmits the moral, and Bede the physical 
qualities of the Angles, the world cannot help knowing what they 
were at that early period. In Bede's History I. 15, the ancient 
home of the Angles is called Angulus. 

As late as A.D. 1400 the Mongolian Emperor, Tamerlane, 
mentions in his autobiography a powerful tribe of Anglans. They 

Europe about A.D. 97 ; and Ptolemy called them AvyaAoi in Asia and AyyiXoi 
in Europe A.D. 160. From the analogy of the above names, we think that 
the Angli, mentioned in Tacitus' (Germ. 40) A.D. 97, and Ptolemy's AyyiXoi 
A.D. 160, issued from the Asiatic AiyAoi and AvyaAoi, alluded to in Herodotus 
(B. III. 92) and Ptolemy ; and that their ancestors came from Asia to Europe 
with the Suevi (Suabians) and Sasones (Saxons). 



Sixth Century. 31 

were probably descendants of Herodotus' AiyA.01 (Angles), who 
dwelled at the foot of the Imaus (Himalaya) Mountains 440 B.C. 
Their emigration to Europe seems not to have exhausted the 
race. The name of this tribe is affixed to Anglen, a province in 
Sleswig Holstein, to Anglesey (Angles' Island) in the Irish sea, 
and to Britain, her people and language in the terms England, 
English. The Puritans styled their home in America New Eng- 
land. Thus the British Isles and the United States of America 
have imperishable patronymics from Herodotus' AiyAoi, Ptolemy's 
AvyaXot in Asia and AyyiA.01 in Europe, Tacitus' Angli and Tam- 
erlane's Anglans, which are landmarks for the Philologist, Histo- 
rian and Ethnologist. 

A people dwelling in the dismal forests of Germany eighteen 
centuries ago, and believing in a divinity that "visited the Na- 
tions on Earth and interposed in human affairs" deserved to be 
handed down to posterity. In spite of theologic dogmas, creeds, 
superstitions and vagaries, their descendants held to the primitive 
ancestral belief, which now makes the English-speaking popula- 
tions the arbiter of the world. 

We have thus alluded to the settlements of the Jutes, Saxons 
and Angles in Britain from A.D. 449 to A.D. 586, during which 
period they warred against the natives, whom they either killed 
or drove to the mountains of Wales, and formed the Anglo-Saxon 
Confederation, consisting of these eight small kingdoms : 

Kingdoms : Founded by : Kings ; Capitals : 



I. 


Kent. 


Jutes. 


A.D. 


455- 


Hengist. 


Canterbury. 


2. 


Sussex. 


Saxons. 


(< 


491. 


Ella. 


Chichester. 


3- 


Wessex. 


«( 


(« 


518. 


Cerdic. 


Winchester. 


4- 


Essex. 


«< 


«< 


527. 


Erchewin. 


London. 


5- 


Bernicia. 


Angles. 


" 


547- 


Ida. 


Bamburgh. 


6. 


Dei'ra. 


(< 


" 


559- 


Ella. 


York. 


7- 


East-Anglia 


<( 


«( 


57i. 


Uffa. 


Dunwich. 


8. 


Mercia. 


<« 


<< 


586. 


Crida. 


Leicester. 



Soon Bernicia and De'ira were united into one kingdom, 
called Northumbria, of which York remained the capital. Thence- 
forth the country was styled Heptarchy (seven kingdoms), and 
its inhabitants Anglo-Saxons. 

The three Scytho-Gotho-Germanic tribes, from which sprang 
the Anglo-Saxons, expanded into the ninety English-speaking 



32 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

millions, that now rule over one quarter of earth's land and one 
fifth of earth's population. As the Jutes were of Scytho- Gothic, 
the Saxons and Angles of Scytho- Germanic stock, their language 
became an amalgam of Gothic and German, whose roots origin- 
ated in Scythia, Aria and Ariavarta (now parts of Independent 
Tartary, north-western China, Persia and northern India), whence 
they were brought by Ario-Scythian tribes to Europe, became 
Scythian in Sarmatia 600 B.C. (now Russia), Gothic in Moesia 
A.D. 376 (now Servia and Bulgaria), High and Low German in 
Germany (A.D. 400-500), and Anglo-Saxon in Britain (A.D. 
449-1200), as shown by the following Table of linguistic roots 
and words of primary necessity, found in the Ario-Japhetic and 
Ario-Semitic languages. 

This table clearly shows, that the closest family-ties : father, 
mother, soft, daughter, brother, sister, &c 7 originated at an early 
period in central Asia ; whereas the more distant ties uncle, aunt, 
cousin, originated at a later period in Europe; hence the former 
belong to a primitive, the latter to an advanced social state. 
When we find that Hebrew, Chinese, and Astec have one and the 
same word, ama, for mother ; abba and apa for father, and that 
ma is mother in the Samoan dialect, spoken by the natives in 
Navigator's Islands, we must acknowledge, that connection, inter- 
course or contact is at the bottom of this linguistic phenomenon. 
Even the bereft widow has a place in the Arian vocabulary, 
which proves, that our Arian grandsires were, in 1 emote ages, 
advocates of the sacredness of women and of the family ties. 

The roots of eleven of the eighteen nouns of primary neces- 
sity seem to have been first uttered by the primitive Arians or 
farmers, dwelling in the sixteen Regions of Beatitude, mentioned 
in the Zend Avesta, and in Ariavarta, watered by the Indus and 
Ganges. These proto-historic linguistic roots expanded from that 
Arian center to Assyria, Greece, Rome, Sarmatia, Scandinavia, 
Germany, Britain, and even to China and to the New world. 

" To think'' is in Sanscrit ma or man, from which was derived 
the Gotho- Germanic name for the noblest creature in the animal 
kingdom. To think was surely the most appropriate appellation 
for man, who is on this planet the thinker par excellence. No 
wonder the term man (thinker) was ever retained by the Asiatic 
and European Arian races. Manu was the son of Brahma, and 



3 K °- C 

S n M * HH _. „ 

n n o 



n 2 




3:3 3 
p . p p 

3 • 3 3 



3: 3 



2 : 



: 3 3 3 3. 



B 3 3 : 



3 3 



Ig.: § 5-g 

33; 2 = 3: 



* S! p * 

p • 3 z o 
3: I 3^3 



^ 
k 



I 

* 



p 

.cr 

p e = : 



Ami 'Sfl c*' pppp 

■*••■»• P !2 r- • C» Q"0 >Q 



C P P 



o". 






P P'P'm 

5? S J? n 3 



< <s p"g 



c = - 



3 3 3 3 
g p p p w 

p p g-p p 



3 3 3g 3| 



33 3 § 3 

o o o 2 c 

s-e-s-S-s 

-■ft re n a 



3 I 

11 3 



S. S o o c 

3 H 3 3 r- 



CCCCo 
o O O O o 
j-r ~ pj-crq 3- 
S-a> ft n n 



c 3 



p 3 : 

33: 



-C. 



cra-crS; cr! 
-t -1 -t it "i r 



c 0-3-5 • 
n p ja < • 

1 >-i .--C 



-T ft s ►?• c c a. c 3^ 



8 o 



3 3 

fin 

cn_ 

|| 

3 3 



* < 



o cr. 

£- Si- 
re 3-. 



P o 

p n 



• *5 C3 

• ^ re -. 



m 

0.0 



2 s: 
< 3 



re 3- 



sv 



co- 
re o 

5= 3 



34 Anglo-Saxon Period ', A.D. 449-1200. 

the lawgiver of the Hindus ; while Mannns, was the son of 
Tuiston, and progenitor of the Gotho-Germanic nations. This 
significant root has ever continued in the cherished national name 
Herrmann (Lord thinker) ; even the Tartar tribes in Asia have 
retained to this day the Arian appellation man in the name of 
their sages and priests, called Shamans ; so have the Chinese in 
Mandarin. The monosyllable ma characterizes Brahma, God of 
the Hindus, and of Gauta;/z<2, God of the Buddhists. The mean- 
ing of the Sanscrit /# is to protect ; hence the original sense of 
pa, abba, papa, pater, father, vater, &c, all having the inter- 
changeable labial letters b, p, f and v, was protector. This lin- 
guistic aspect gives to our endearing terms ma and pa a deeper 
and more exalted meaning than they ever had before, making ma 
the thinker and pa the protector of the family. When we consider, 
that a child, uttering these Arian monosyllables, expresses the high- 
est human attributes — thinker and protector, we realize, that primi- 
tive language was not a mere chance, accident or exclamation, but 
a profound science. It had no superfluous syllables and letters, 
like our modern tongues, but was simple, direct and telegraphic. 

We might add Tables of numerals, adjectives, verbs, and parti- 
cles ; but as the above Table proves, that Arian linguistic roots 
of primary necessity were brought from central Asia to Europe 
by the ancestors of our Gotho-Germanic grandsires, we forbear. 

From these primitive linguistic roots, from protohistoric hints, 
from historic statements and geographic indications in Herodo- 
tus, Strabo, Tacitus, Ammianus, Jornandes, and from Josephus' 
description of the post-diluvian emigration (Ant. of the Jews, 
chap. VI.) we infer, that the earliest stream of population from 
Asia to Europe carried Ario-Japhetic roots, from which were 
formed Pelasgic, Thracian, Greek, Etruscan, Latin, Cimmerian or 
Cimbric and Basque. At a remote period this stream extended 
even to Tartessus, in Spain, mentioned by Herodotus, (The 
Tarshish of the Scriptures,) and to Massilia (Marseilles) in Gaul. 
Later the Skoloti or Scythians* Sacia/is, Aria?is,\ and Germa?is, 

* Herodotus (B. iv., 6 and 7) says Scythians were called 2/coA.otoi {Skolotoi) 
in their own language 1500 B.C., and 2/<u0a (Scythians) by the Greeks, 440 
B.C. 

\ Tacitus, A.D. 97, mentions a powerful tribe of Arii (Arians), dwelling on 
the western bank of the Vistula in Germany. 



Sixth Century. 35 

ancestors of our Scytho-Gotbo-Germanic sires, carried to Europe 
more Avian and Mongolian roots, which we find felicitously 
blended with preceding vocabularies. Oriental authors, like 
Valmiki, Firdousi, Tamerlane, &c, call Scythia. Aria7ia and Aria, 
sometimes Tchermania and its dwellers Tchermanee ; they are so 
called down to the fourteenth century of our era. They also 
mention some of the names of the ancient and modern Scytho- 
Gotho-Germanic tribes. As most of these facts are historic and 
admitted by archeologists ; and as civilization is reaching those 
regions and the very spots, where our Asiatic ancestors dwelled 
ages ago, we may look for more and more light concerning the 
origin of the Anglo-Saxon and other European races and lan- 
guages, especially when an erudite scholar, like Baron Von 
Hammer, tells us he found over 4,000 Scytho-Gotho-Germanic 
and Persian words with striking affinities. 

There was a Sarmato-Sclavonic stream that followed the above 
named. By such intermingling of races and dialects, linguistic 
gems passed into Anglo-Saxon and English from Arian, Semitic, 
Greco-Latin, Celtic and Gotho-Germanic sources, especially 
from the time the Anglo-Saxons became Christians A.D. 597. 
Hypercritics, like Macaulay, may sneer and call early Anglo- 
Saxon history "mythical ; " it is nevertheless the most probable 
and rational that has reached us ; and no proto-historic data are 
better sustained by reliable records. As Macaulay has given 
us nothing in its place, we better hold on to it ; perhaps Chinese 
Mongolian and Tartar records, together with Cuneiform and 
Runic decipherings may bring to light more direct proof. Sir 
Wm. Jones, Bopp, Champollion, Oppert, Rawlinson, Burnouf, 
Schleicher, Max Miiller and Whitney have done much ; Schlie- 
mann, Cesnola, Prime, Hubert Bancroft, Stanley and others may 
do more to illumine proto-history ; therefore let us continue to 
search patiently and abstain from calling things "mythical" 
simply because they took place ages ago and thwart our preju- 
dices. 

To give a clearer and more direct idea of the origin of the 
Anglo-Saxon language, we cite, as a point of comparison, the 
earliest Lord's Prayers in the four oldest Gotho-Germanic dia- 
lects : Gothic A.D. 376; — Anglo-Saxon A.D. 700; — Low Ger- 
man A.D. 700 ; High German A.D. 720. In the vocabulary, 



36 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

grammar and construction of this prayer, readers may trace the 
immediate origin of Anglo-Saxon from Gothic and German. 



Gothic Lord's Prayer from Ulfilas* * version of the Bible about A.D. 376 : 

" Atta unsar thu in himinam, 
Veihnai namo thein ; 
Gimai thiudinassus theins ; 

Vairthai vilja theins soe in himina iah ana airthai ; 
Hlaif unsarana thana sinteinan gif uns himma daga ; 
iah aflet uns thatei skulans siaima svasve iah veis afletam thaim skulam 

unsaraim ; 
iah ni briggais uns in fraistubn iai ; 
Ak lausei uns af thamma ubilin ; 
Unte theina ist thiudangardi iah mahts iah 
vulthus in aivins. Amen." — Matthew c. 6, 10. 



High German Lord's Prayer, A.D. 720: 

" Fatter unseer, thu pist in Himele, 
Wihi Namum dinan ; 
Chmeme Rihi din ; 

Werde Willo din, so in Himele, sosa in Erdu; 
Proath unseer emezhic kijo uns hiutu; 
Oblaz uns Sculdi unseero, so wir oblasen uns skuldikem ; 
Enti ni unish firletti in Khorunka ; 
Uzz erlosi unish fona Ubile." 



* We mentioned this zealous apostle of the Goths in the fifth century. He 
formed the Gothic Alphabet of 26 letters from the Greek, and translated the 
New Testament from Greek into Gothic, A.D. 376. This was the first 
Gotho-Germanic writing, and the earliest translation of the Teachings of Christ 
and his apostles. In the sixteenth century a copy of this precious version, 
containing long fragments of the Gospels, was found in the monastery of 
Werden near Cologne. It was called " Codex Argenteus ;" because it is 
written in letters of silver and gold on vellum. It was bought by the Swedish 
government and deposited in the library of Upsala. It is said this curious 
MS. was made in Italy during the sway of the Gothic kings in the fifth cen- 
tury. Many copies have been taken from this ancient relic. It was long 
supposed that only fragments of the Gospels remained; but in 1726 the 
" Epistles to the Romans" were discovered in the library of Wolfenbuttel. 
Again another fragment was found at Milan by Angelo May, A. D. 1820. 
Hence the Gotho-Germanic races were the first, who appreciated and trans- 
lated Christ's Ethics. 



Sixth Century. 37 

Low German Lord^s Prayer, about A.D. 700, now a living language : 
" Thu ure Fader, the eart on heofenum, 

Si thin noman gehalgod. 

Cume thin like. 

Si thin Willa on eorthan twa on heofenum ; 

Syle us todag orne daegvvanlican hlaf. 

And forgif us ure gylter, swa we forgifath tham the with us agylthat. 

And ne laed thu na us on kostnunge ; 

Ac alys us fronn yfele. 

Si bit swa." 

Oldest Anglo-Saxon Lord^s Prayer, from an ancient MS., being a gloss on 
the Evangelists, by Eadfride, St/i bishop of Lindffarne, about A.D. 700 : 
Camdeii's Remains, p. 23. 

" Fader uren thu in Heofnas, 
Sie gehalgud Nama thin, 
To Cymeth ric thin ; 

Sie fillo thin suae is in Heofne and in Eortha. 
Hlaf uferne oferwistlic sel us to daeg ; 
And forgef us scyltha urna suae we 
forgefon scylgum urum. 
And ne inlead usith in Costnunge. 
Ah gefrigusich from evil." 

Anglo-Saxon Lord^s Prayer, from the Gospels of Mar esc hall and Junius. 
Its purity assigns it to the reign of Alfred the Great, about A.D. 890. 

" Faeder ure thu the eart on heofenum, 
Si thin nama gehalgod ; 
To becume thin rice. 

Gewurthe thin willa on eorthan swa swa on heofenum. 
Urne daeghwamlican hlaf syle us to daeg ; 

And forgyf us ure gyltas, swa swa we forgifoth urum gyltendum ; 
And ne gelaedde thu us on costnunge. 
Ac alys us of yfele. 
Sothlice." —Matthew vi. 9-13. 

Anglo-Saxon Lord's Prayer, A.D. 1120. 
"Ure Fader in Heven rich, 
Thy name be halyed ever lich. 
Thou bring us thy michel bliese 
Als bit in heven y doe, 
Evear in yearth been it alsoe. 



" the Anglo-Saxon " 


n 


700 


it 


" " Low- German " 


u 


700 


u 


" " Anglo-Saxon " 


u 


89O 


(t 


" " High-German " 


c< 


720 


u 


" " Anglo-Saxon " 


a 


1 120 


u 


" " English " 


tt 


l6ll 


It 



38 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

That holy brede that lasteth ay, 
Thou send us this ilke day. 
Forgive us all that we have done, 
As we forgive ech other one. 
Ne let us fall into no founding, 
Ne sheld us frym the foule thing." 



Among the striking verbal and grammatic analogies of these 
versions let us compare one sentence : 

In Ulfilas' Gothic version of A.D. 376 occurs : " hlaif sinteinan gif us to daga ; " 

' ' hlaf sel us to daeg ; ' ' 
" syle us todag hlaf; " 
" hlaf syle us to daeg ;" 
" proath emezhic kijo uns;" 
" brede send us this day ; " 
"give MS this day our daily bread." 

Without any historic, ethnologic or archeologic light, such ver- 
bal and grammatic resemblance would illumine Medieval dark- 
ness, not only to the philologist, but to the historian and philoso- 
pher ; for Gothic hlaif of Mcesia in South-eastern Europe A.D. 
376; — Anglo-Saxon hlaf in England A.D. 700; and Low-Ger- 
man hlaf va. northern Germany A.D. 700 ; — High-German proath 
in southern Germany A.D. 720 ; — Anglo-Saxon brede in England 
A.D. 1120 ; English bread A.D. 1611 — all meaning one and the 
same thing, bread — indicate contact or intercourse sometime and 
somewhere. So do Anglo-Saxon sel, syle, and Low German syle, 
whence our sell, which must have had a different meaning ; for 
it is hardly supposable, that our Gotho-Germanic ancestors, who 
were ever reverend, would have used that term in the sense we 
do now. Next notice in these six versions the strong analogy in 
grammar and construction, which some linguists consider of more 
value than verbal resemblance. Prejudiced and superficial 
readers might pass lightly over such linguistic indications ; but, 
when history tells us, that the Goths and Germans amalgamated 
at an early date in Central Europe ; that their ancestors, who 
were Herodotus' 'SkvOoll (Scythia?is), Yep/xavioc (Germans), 2aKcu 
(Saxons), and AiyXot (Angles) roamed ages ago over Aria and 
Ariavarta in Central Asia, whence they emigrated to Europe, — 
then these linguistic indications acquire positive value as aids to 



Sixth Century. 



39 



W 
pq 



v\i 



r O 



^ 



Si 

I 






c • c g g g c 



a a 

6 S 
d d 



: H a 











'> 


. . >3ijaja . . . .*a .£3 . . . 








^ 3 






-a 


. as d d . rtrt_,rtrt— <cirt.S . . 


diu 
dyn 
denj 
dnes 


danim 



"0 s 



C..D ,Q „Q -Q rO rQ ,Q ^ 



■8-8 



.ex: 
is 3 



;wa 



- is a s ; £ $ s ;.as :« : 

-a 



P» ?> c« ^» d • 



2 S3 '-3 
rt « S3 



■< . o -2 -is -S 



o _u 



j>>.d.£2 



u 3 a 



IH 



C o c c 



11= 

III 



lp 

d 2 d 

C C G 



_Q G S 



gC2 = cogg — g 



■all a 



G d d 



i-s-s-S' 



•3 ;t3 £ B : 



iifllJlflfJlJ : ; 



.S S-S-B-^S "■"■"«•" 








■i 


. a g. s . a g-.a.a. a |1.s-: 


■flCfifl • 

•.a w.a 4) • 


. G • • 


. 3 

• • G 
d 


*.:::.: 



3 3 e 3 * 



J £d| 5 5 5 S 2 5 3 fe 5 S s « £! £ i-s-d-2 --3 d| «j 2.3-_g § a 
d 5<d d « « ^ rt -S rt ►? r rt ^ r rt « rt ai « rt « rt « rt ^ H m •%£ d A< £ •< < fj ^ 



:b : : 

* 3 * ' 
: g 

. 1) i vo O 

■ o t^ o 

•u CON 

• in 


Q O N is. t-» 
N CN 0\ OS 

Ntsini^io 


• tN • 

• co • 


• tN.000 t-»0 H tM 
.10003 OOO CO 




• ■ CO 

. .vo 






5 5 - 3 * 


3 


.O 


3 


3 


* 


• c 


II 

it « ~ _e ^ • 


c 


si ^ 

• O .. " V u * 


G 


" b ;.* : 








d t! "^ "5 to J3 "« 

idQ.OT-Ki;3od 



WC0<^^^^£MMOfe^Jii^xPH > i:^p<^'J^7:»2^S<ilU 



40 



Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 



proto-history and archeology. We fully understand these anal- 
ogies, when we realize from Medieval Records, that Anglo- 
Saxon missionaries went from England to Germany to preach 
the Gospel to their Gotho-Germanic kindred in the seventh cen- 
tury. To give to the philologic gems in the Lord's Prayer their 
full luster, we add a Table of similia to father, our, in, heaven, 
thy, name, reign, will, n., Earth, sell, loaf or bread, day, evil, 
and amen, in 32 European and Asiatic dialects. 

The English Lord's Prayer (Matt. 6, 9) numbers 66 words, 40 
of which are different words, and the rest repetitions. Fourteen 
of the 40 different words occur in some or in most of the 32 dia- 
lects and languages in the preceding Table. 

The root of father ox pa occurs in 31 of the 32 languages. 



tt 


name 




tt 


29 


u 


a 


it 


will 




a 


22 


it 


tt 


" 


► Earth 




tt 


22 


tt 


tt 


tt 


amen 




a 


21 


tt 


tt 


tt 


thy 




it 


19 


tt 


tt 


tt 


reign (kingdom) " 


18 


tt 


tt 


tt 


in 




tt 


18 


tt 


tt 


tt 


day 




it 


18 


tt 


tt 


tt 


heaven 




tt 


16 


tt 


tt 


tt 


bread 




tt 


13 


tt 


<< 


tt 


our 




a 


12 


tt 


tt 


[*he interchangeab 


e consonants in father were the labials 


b, p,f, v, and den - 














[tals: d, th and t ; 


tt n 


tt 




name 


a 


mutes : 


n and m ; 


it a 


a 




reign 


a 


gutturals : c, g and k ; 


tt tt 


a 




will 


a 


labials : 


b, f, v and w ; 


tt tt 


a 




Earth 


tt 


dentals 


: d, th and t ; 


tt tt 


tt 




bread 


a 


labials : 


b and p ; 


tt a 


tt 




day 


cc 


dentals 


d and t • 


tt tt 


it 




evil 


a 


labials : 


b, f and v , 


tt tt 


tt 




heaven 


tt 


aspirate 


h and sibilant s. 



Zend, Persian and Greek fiequently have aspirate h, which 
became sibilant s in Sanscrit, in the Semitic and Gotho-Germanic 
tongues, and in Latin. The Hebrew word amen (so be it) en- 
tered 21 of the 32 languages with but very slight alteration. 
Vowel-changes are not considered of importance in philology ; 
whereas consonant changes have certain fixed rules by which 
linguists are guided. Hence Semitic nations only wrote conso- 



Sixth Century. 



4i 



nants, and left vowels to be supplied by readers and speakers. As 
shown in the Table on p. 39, ten of the 14 words : father, in, 
heaven, thy, name, reign, Earth, day, bread and amen point to 
Asia for their roots ; whereas but four : our, will, sell and evil 
were developed in Europe. In our first Table with 18 words of 
kindred, 1 1 point to Asia for their roots, and 7 were developed in 
Europe. When philologists objected to verbal analogy as a sign of 
relationship, the learned Dr. Young, whose data on this point 
are important, arrived through close research at the following 
numeric rules : 



One analogous word in 2 languages may be a mere coincidence. 
Two " " " indicate 3 chances of relationship. 

Three to seven analogous words in 2 languages increase the chances of rela- 

[tionship in a rapid ratio. 
Eight " " " indicate 100,000 chances of 

[relationship. 

Hence analogous terms, occurring from 12 to 31 times in 32 
languages, as is the case in the Table on p. 39, must be conclu- 
sive evidence of relationship. To corroborate our verbal anal- 
ogies, we add a few correspondences of grammatic inflections; 
as the Greek verbs in mi have analogues in Sanscrit, we quote 
some here. 



GOTHO-GERMANIC .* 


GKECO-LATIN : 


SCLAVONIC : 




English : 


Anglo-Saxon : 


Greek : 


Latin : 


Lithuanian : 


Sanscrit : 


am 
art 
is 

stand 
standest 
stands 


am 

arth 

is 

stande 

standest 

stent 


EtJU.1 

«S 

e?Ti 

ISTTJ/Ult 
t?T7J? 
t?TT}St 

SiStafU. 
818105 
Stfiusi 


sum 

es 

est 
sumus 

sto 
stas 
stat 

do 
das 
dat 


stowmi 
stowi 
stow 

dudmi 
dusi 
dusti 


asmi 
assi 
asti 
asmassi 
tisthami 
tisthasi 
tisthati 

dadhami 
dadasi 
dadati 



Archeologists tell us, that the Greco-Latin stream of popula- 
tion and language from Asia to Europe was the earliest ; and the 
Sclavonic stream the latest ; the above conjugative inflections 
mi clearly prove, that there was at some period or other connection 
between Greek and Sanscrit ; Lithuanian, Latin and other Eu- 



42 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

ropean tongues may have copied from Greek, for Greece had 
intercourse and commerce with the Scythians in Sarmatia, with 
the Latins in Italy and with the Celts in Gaul, Spain and Britain. 
Moreover, the Lithuanians may be descended from the European 
Scythians, whose ancestors came from Central Asia to Europe 680 
B.C. and drove the Cimmerians from Cimmeria, now Southern 
Russia. 

These reflections were suggested by the 14 linguistic ana- 
logues in the Lord's Prayer, numbering but 40 different words. 
As the Old Testament contains the thought, language, traditions, 
musings, literature and wisdom of the Shepherd Kings and Magi, 
collected by Moses, Solomon and other Hebrew Sages ; and as 
ideas concerning primitive cosmogony, astronomy, geology, bot- 
any, zoology, philology and sociology are recorded therein, it might 
prove as rich a linguistic mine as the Lord's Prayer. Josephus tells 
us (Ant. B. XII, 4-7), that Ptolemy, the wisest of Egypt's kings, 
discovered its excellence as a record of the post-diluvian gener- 
ations, and had it translated into Greek by seventy Hebrew and 
Greek scholars, 276 B.C., for his famous Alexandrian library. We 
know it as the " SeJ>ttMgint" = ~LXX (seventy). About seven 
centuries thereafter St. Jerome, the most erudite Greek and Latin 
scholar, after being liberally educated at Rome, and having 
traveled over the greater part of the Roman Empire, became 
private secretary to Pope Damasus L, A.D. 382. Soon he be- 
came disgusted with the corruptions of Rome and retired to 
Bethlehem, where he learned Hebrew and translated the Old 
and New Testaments from the best MSS. then extant into Latin. 
This version, cherished by Rome ever since, is known as the 
"Vulgate" This eminent Father of the Church died A.D. 420. 
The Bible and parts thereof were first written in Hebrew and 
Greek, then translated into Gothic and Latin. The Table on p. 39 
shows that it has since been translated into the Medieval and 
modern tongues. At the Centennial Exhibition, 1876, the Ameri- 
can Bible Society had printed specimens from Bible versions in 
164 different dialects and languages. The ninety English-speak- 
ing millions have been translating and circulating it all over the 
globe ; so that Christ's Ethics have reached the benighted Es- 
kimo, Hottentot and fierce cannibal Fiji Islander. Let the text, 
phraseology, vocabulary and words of these 164 dialects and 






Sixth Century. 43 

languages be carefully searched and compared. Unexpected 
linguistic analogies, that would throw light on history and ethnol- 
ogy, might be discovered by such a course. In this department 
missionaries, versed in philology, could reap a rich harvest for 
science ; therefore philology should be one of the chief studies in 
the curriculum of divinity. 

The vocabulary of the previous Gotho-Germanic Lord's 
Prayers, and the fourteen words therefrom in the Table on p. 39 
convey the idea, that the three Gotho-Germanic tribes : Jutes, 
Saxons and Angles, carried to Britain the Gothic, High and 
Low German dialects, from which they developed the Anglo- 
Saxon language ; that the Greco-Latin, Celtic, Gotho-Germanic 
and Sclavonic dialects and languages became interwoven through 
translations of the Bible ; and that Christianity and civilization 
went hand in hand among the European Medieval tribes, peoples 
and nations. Thus we endeavored to trace the origin of the 
Anglo-Saxon dialect from primitive Asiatic and European lin- 
guistic roots, and from the vocabulary of the Lord's Prayer in the 
earliest Gotho-Germanic languages ; because there are no Anglo- 
Saxon written documents from A.D. 449 to 586, a period during 
which the Jutes, Saxons and Angles landed and settled in Britain. 
The dialects now spoken in Sleswig-Holstein and Friesland are 
but modified Gothic, Low German and Anglo-Saxon. 

As this century witnessed the first step in Anglo-Saxon civiliza- 
tion, it behooves us to pause and consider its importance. If 
you wish to benefit a race morally, teach them Christ's sublime 
ethics. If you desire to advance a people intellectually, carry 
them the means of recording and perpetuating thought; in other 
words, give them an alphabet. Both these blessings, together 
with the Roman numbers, calendar, church music and chant 
reached the Anglo-Saxons through a gentle Frankish Princess 
named Bertha,* daughter of Caribert, King of France, A.D. 561- 
567. The cotemporary historian, Gregory of Tours, 559-593, in 



♦Bertha was C Clovis, King of France, A.D. 481-51 1, and St. Clotilda, 
great grand- < a Burgundian Princess, through whose influence Clovis be- 
daughter of ( came a Christian. 

Grand daugh- ( 
ter Q £ S Clotaire I., King of Neustria, 511-561. 



44 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

his "History of the Franks" alludes thus to this event, Lib. 4 : 
" King Caribert wedded Ingoberga, by whom he had one daugh- 
ter, who married and was taken to Kent; " — Lib. 9 : "He died, 
I think, in the 70th year of his life, leaving one daughter, whom 
the son of a certain King of Kent married." 

Ingoberga, Bertha's mother, is mentioned as a benevolent and 
excellent queen, who, while instilling into her daughter female 
virtues and graces, little dreamt that she was destined to be the 
corner-stone of Anglo-Saxon conversion. It seems Caribert died 
when Bertha was quite young, and her uncle Chilperic, King of 
Neustria, became her guardian. 

Ethelbert I.,* King of Kent and Bretwalda or chief of all the 
Kingdoms of the Heptarchy, except Northumbria, claimed lineal 
descent from Odin or Woden, through his illustrious ancestors 
Hengist, Horsa and the famous Rowena. 

He was the fourth king of Kent from Hengist, and asked 
Bertha's hand. Here, surely, was a young couple, connected 
with all that was great and noble in Medieval times. The fierce 
elements of the Goths and Franks, already amalgamated on 
the continent, were now to be wedded with the Anglo-Saxons 
in Britain. Chilperic, whose grandfather, Clovis, had been a 
Frankish heathen, opposed the union of his niece with an Anglo- 
Saxon heathen ! but Bertha, remembering the conversion of her 



Niece of 



Sigebert I., King of Austrasia, 561-575 and Brunehaut, 
daughter of Athanagild, King of the Visigoths in Spain. 
Ingunda, daughter of Sigebert and Brunehaut, married Her- 
menegild, King of the Visigoths in Spain, about 578. 
Hermenegild's capital was Seville in Andalusia. 



, " \ Chilperic I., King of Neustria 561-584, and Galsuinta, 
I daughter of Athanagild, King of the Visigoths in Spain. 

Niece of < Gontran, King of Burgundy, 561-593. 

* Ethelbert was son of Hermenric, King of Kent, A.D. 534, who was son 
of Octa or Eisc, King of Kent, 488, who was son of Hengist, King of Kent, 
455, son of Wightgils, son of Wecta, son of Odin or Woden. Ethelbert also 
claims Horsa and the beautiful Rowena, Hengist's daughter, who married 
King Vortigern, as his ancestors. Ethelbert was the seventh generation from 
Odin or Woden. This genealogy is culled from the Saxon Chronicle, Bede, 
Ethelwerd and Malmesbury. 



Sixth Century. 45 

illustrious ancestor through the prayers and entreaties of her 
great-grandmother Clotilda, accepted the gallant Anglo-Saxon, 
on condition that she and her followers should ever be unmo- 
lested in the exercise of their religion, which being cheerfully 
granted by Ethelbert, the nuptial rites were duly solemnized and 
the royal cortege started for Kent, A.D. 570. 

In Bertha's retinue shone the venerable Luidhard, Bishop of 
Senlis, her chaplain and spiritual guide. On their arrival in Can- 
terbury, Ethelbert' s capital, the church of St. Martin, built by Ro- 
man Christians, was assigned to Bertha and her followers as their 
place of worship. Here the pious queen and her friends prac- 
tised quietly their religion under Luidhard' s guidance. Twenty- 
six years glided thus away. Think you that Bertha and Luidhard 
were idle spectators in that distant land, where the fierce rites of 
Odin must have singularly contrasted with those of the gentle 
Nazarene ? As positive history and biography are silent about 
what did or did not happen in Kent during the years that elapsed 
from Bertha's marriage, A.D. 570, to Ethelbert's conversion, 
A.D. 597 ; and as but one cotemporary historian, Gregory of 
Tours, alludes to a daughter of Caribert and Ingoberga, who 
married and was taken to Kent, we leave our readers to judge 
from circumstances and events, what must have occurred. If 
we consider who Bertha was, and with whom connected, we shall 
admit that her influence must have been very great, independent 
of her fine character. Moreover, the accomplished Luidhard, 
who presided over the small Christian flock in Canterbury, was 
in duty bound to communicate with his superiors in Rome, and 
did so, as will hereafter appear. 

It is generally conceded that Pope Gregory I., surnamed the 
Great, contemplated the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons before 
he obtained the tiara. As he was chosen Pope, A.D. 590, and 
died 605, Ethelbert's conversion must have been effected within 
the fifteen years of his papal sway. Gregory's letters in " Patro- 
logicp.," * vol. 77, will convince the most critical reader that what 

* "PatroZogice" 217 quarto volumes, issued from 1844 to 1858, contain- 
ing the writings of the Christian Fathers in Greek and Latin, besides all that 
has been written about theologic science and literature from the 5th to the 
19th century. The publisher, J. P. Migne, Paris, corresponded with the 
libraries in Europe, Asia and Africa, procured all he could in the shape of 



46 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

occurred in Canterbury, A.D. 597, was the result of a well con- 
ceived, well prepared and well executed plan. 

As some of Pope Gregory's letters may interest readers, I shall 
cull from and translate those that have reference to the conversion 
of the Anglo-Saxons. 

" Patrologice" Vol. 77, Lib. VI., Epistola VII.* 
" Gregory to Candidus, Presbyter, going to the Ecclesiastic Pa- 
trimony in France, A.D. 595 or 596? 
" As you are, with the help of our Lord God, Jesus Christ, going to un- 
dertake the management of the ecclesiastic patrimony in France, we desire 
you should buy with the money you may receive, clothing for the poor, or 
Anglo-Saxon boys seventeen or eighteen years old, and have them educated 
for God's service in monasteries. Inasmuch as French money is uncurrent 
in our country, and may be spent to more advantage where it is current, if 
you can obtain any bonus on moneys now due, as we already stated, we wish 
you to purchase vestments for the poor boys to be educated in the service of 
Almighty God. But as those who can be found are pagans, we desire a 
priest should accompany them, so as to baptize any that may be taken sick 
on the way, as soon as he sees them in danger of dying. Let your arrange- 
ments be so made as to enable you to hasten to carry out these designs." 

The contents of this letter seem to imply, as corroborated by 
cotemporary and subsequent writers, that youths were carried 
from Britain to the continent to be sold as slaves, and that Pope 
Gregory made arrangements to have some of them bought, edu- 
cated in monasteries and sent as interpreters and missionaries 

books and manuscripts, and printed them in this erudite work. Pope Greg- 
ory's writings fill volumes 73, 74, 75, 76 and 77. This rare and voluminous 
work is in the Astor Library, New York. 

* " Gregorius Candido, presbytero, eunti ad patrimonium Gallke. Pergens, 
auxiliante Domino Deo nostro, Jesu Christo, ad patrimonium quod est in 
Galliis gubernandum, volumus ut dilectio tua ex solidis quos acceperit vesti- 
menta pauperum, vel pueros Anglos, qui sunt ab annis decern et septem, vel 
decern et octo, ut in monasteriis dati Deo proficiant, comparet, quatenus 
solidi Galliarum, qui in terra nostra expendi non possunt, apud locum pro- 
prium utiliter expendantur. Si quidvero de pecuniis redituum, qua; dicuntur 
abata; recipere potueris, ex his quoque vestimenta pauperum comparare te 
volumus, vel, sicut praefati sumus, pueros qui in omnipotentis Dei servitio 
proficiant. Sed quia pagani sunt qui illic inveniri possunt ; volo ut cum eis 
presbyter transmittatur, ne quid oegritudinis contingat in via, ut quos moritu- 
ros conspexerit debut baptizare. Ita igitur tua dilectio faciat, ut haec dili- 
genter implere festinet." 



Sixth Century. 47 

among their countrymen. This epistle shows Gregory not only 
a philanthropist, but a practical business man and financier, who 
could calculate even the premium on money and exchanges. It 
is glorious to find among the Popes one who used the Peter- 
Pence to rescue bright youths from slavery and educate them in 
papal institutions. 

It has been said by many writers, especially Alfric, A.D. iooo, 
that " Augustine took interpreters from among the Franks," which 
would be correct, if it was stated that these interpreters were 
Anglo-Saxons, carried to the continent, sold there as slaves, saved 
from bondage by Pope Gregory, educated by his orders, and re- 
turned to their country as missionaries. 

Cotemporary and subsequent records point to the spring of 
A.D. 596 as the time when Augustine and his fellow-monks 
started from Rome for Britain. Pope Gregory had chosen Au- 
gustine for that mission. There is nothing positive how he and 
his companions reached France. Letters and documents indi- 
cate that their first interview was with Serenus, Bishop of Mar- 
seilles, whence they went to the ancient and famous Benedictine 
Abbey of Lerins in the Isle of St. Honorat. 

While thus traveling in France, they were evidently told that 
their journey to Britain was through gloomy and barbarous 
regions, and across a most dangerous sea ; even if they were 
fortunate enough to reach Britain, they would encounter mere 
savages, whose dialect they ignored, and consequently could not 
preach the gospel to them. Hence Augustine's associates begged 
and urged him to return to Rome, communicate these circum- 
stances to his Holiness, and entreat him to recall them from this 
hazardous and seemingly useless mission. Whether Augustine 
shared their opinions or not is of little importance. He returned 
to Rome, leaving his companions somewhere in South-eastern 
France. Augustine reached Rome in August, and consulted 
with Gregory. Behold the result : 

" Patrologicz," Vol. 77, Lib. VI., Epistola LI. 
Letter of Pope Gregory to the Companions of Augustine, August, 

A.D. 596. 
Gregory, the servant of the servants of God, to the servants of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. 

" As it would have been better not to undertake good works, than to think 



48 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

of abandoning them, when undertaken, it behooves you, my dearest sons, to 
perform with the utmost zeal the beneficent task you began with God's as- 
sistance. Hence let neither the perils of the journey nor the tongues of gos- 
sipping calumniators deter you ; but persevere with all the diligence and fervor, 
which incited you to start through God's inspiration, convinced that the glory 
of an eternal reward follows a great enterprise. 

"Augustine, your prior, whom we constitute your Abbot, humbly obey in 
all things; fully aware, that whatever may be accomplished by his advice, 
will redound to the benefit of your souls. 

"May Almighty God protect you with his grace and grant me to behold 
the fruit of your labors in the everlasting mansions ! Inasmuch as I cannot 
labor with you, may I be found worthy to share with you in the enjoyment 
of your reward ; because I surely wish to be and labor with you. 

"May God keep you from all harm, my dearest sons ! 

" Given on the ioth day of the calends of August, under our most pious 
Emperor Mauricius Tiberius Augustus, in the 14th year of his reign, the 13th 
after his consulate, Indication 14." 

To this turning back of Augustine was probably due the final 
success of his mission to the Anglo-Saxons ; for all possible 
efforts were made, influences used and means procured to insure 
success. Augustine was made bearer of letters from his Holiness 
to the kings and bishops, through whose territories and bishop- 
rics he and his companions were likely to pass ; but perhaps 
the most important means for his ultimate triumph was the pro- 
curing of the native Anglo-Saxons educated in France as inter- 
preters, as first mentioned in the letter from Gregory to Candidus, 
steward of the ecclesiastic patrimony in France. 

" Petrologies," Vol. 77, Lib. VI., Epistola LIX. 

Letter from Pope Gregory to Brunehaut,* Queen of the Franks 
of austrasia, capital metz, lorraine, a.d. 596. 

" Your Excellency's Christian zeal is so well known, that we can in no way 
doubt its goodness. 

"We are informed that the nation of the Angles, with God's mercy, long 
to become Christian ; but that the priests of the adjacent country have no 
pastoral solicitude to encourage their wishes by exhortation. Lest their souls 
might go to everlasting perdition, we felt anxious to send thither Augustine, 
bearer of this letter, with other servants of God, in order to Jearn through 
them the desires of the Angles, and, with your assistance, to provide for their 

* See Brunehaut's genealogy in foot-note, p. 44. 



Sixth Century. 49 

conversion as far as possible. We also ordered them to take priests from the 
neighboring countries with them. Therefore, your Excellency, as much on 
account of our petition as from fear of God, will graciously consider Augus- 
tine as highly recommended and deserving, extend over him your protection, 
aid him in his arduous mission, and enable him to obtain ample means, that 
he may securely reach the above named nation of the Angles." * 

This period of English history always seemed to me not only- 
hazy, but contradictory, till I saw in Pope Gregory's cotempo- 
rary letters this sentence : " We are mformed that the natio?i of 
the Angles longs to be Christ Han ; but that the priests of the 
adjacent country have no pastoral solicitude to encourage their 
wishes by exhortation.'' 1 This statement implies : first, that Rome 
had been informed by somebody concerning the desire of the 
Anglo-Saxons to become Christians. As I previously stated, the 
zealous Luidhard was not idle in Canterbury; nor was Queen 
Bertha, who quietly attracted Ethelbert to Christ's gentle max- 
ims. No doubt Gregory had hearcl, directly or indirectly through 
Luidhard, that Kent's king might be favorably approached. 
This we cannot help inferring from Gregory's letters and from 
the circumstances. — Next, that the priests of Wales, where 
Christianity flourished, had been urged by Rome to preach Christ 
to their Anglo-Saxon neighbors, and had refused. This passage 
from Geoffrey of Monmouth's " Historia Britonum" (A.D. 1147), 



* Besides the above letter to Queen Brunehaut, Bertha's aunt, Augustine 
was made bearer of the following letters, A.D. 596 : 
" Patrologice," Vol. 77, Lib. VI. 
Letter 52, Gregory to Pelagius and Serenus, Bishops of Tours and Marseilles. 
" 53, " Virgilius, Bishop of Aries. 

'• 54, " Syagrius, " Autun. 

" 55, " Protasius, " Aix, France. 

" 56, " Stephanus, Abbot of Lerins, where, it is supposed, 

Augustine left his companions, when he went back to 
Rome. 
" 58, " Theodoric (Thierry II.) and Theodebert II., Kings of 

Burgundy and Austrasia, grandsons of Brunehaut, 
regent (A.D. 596) during their minority (Bertha's 
second cousins). 
In these letters Augustine and his companions are strongly recommended, 
and assistance is solicited for their mission to Britain. Their contents are 
similar to those in the letter to Queen Brunehaut. 



50 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

Lib. XL, C. 12 and 13, fully explains why the Britons refused, 
and why a mission was sent from Rome.* 

Among Pope Gregory's letters eleven are addressed to Queen 
Brunehaut, Bertha's aunt. When Augustine passed through 
France on his way to Britain, she treated him and his compan- 
ions most hospitably, and furnished them all she could to make 
their mission a success, for which Pope Gregory blessed and 
thanked her most graciously in a subsequent letter, Letter 11, 
Lib. IX., " Patrologice" Vol. 77. She was at that time regent of 
the kingdoms of Burgundy and Austrasia for her grandsons 
Thierry II. and Theodebert ILf 

We need hardly say that Augustine's mission, so well con- 
ceived and planned, could be but a success ; especially when 
undertaken and carried on by devoted men, whose journey 
through France was an ovation, kings, queens, bishops and 
abbots showering favors on the Papal missionaries, who arrived 
in Britain, numbering forty. They landed in the Isle of Thanet 

* " Augustine was sent by Pope St. Gregory into Britain to preach the 
word of God to the Angles, who, being blinded with pagan superstition, had 
entirely extinguished Christianity in that part of the island which they pos- 
sessed. But among the Britons the Christian faith still flourished and never 
failed among them from the time of Pope Eleutherius (A.D. 1S9), when it 
was first planted here. When Augustine came he found in their province 
seven bishoprics and an archbishopric, all filled with most devout prelates, 
and a great number of abbeys, by which the flock of Christ was still kept in 
good order. Among the rest there was in the city of Bangor a most noble 
church, in which it is reported there was so great a number of monks that, 
when the monastery was divided into seven parts, having each their priors 
over them, not one of them had less than three hundred monks, who all lived 
by the labor of their own hands. The name of their abbot was Dinooth, a 
man admirably skilled in the liberal arts, who, when Augustine required the 
subjection of the British bishops, and would have persuaded them to under- 
take the work of the gospel with him among the Angles, answered him with 
several arguments, that they owed no subjection to him, neither would they 
preach to their enemies, since they had their own Archbishop, and because 
the Saxon nation persisted in depriving them of their country. For this reason 
they esteemed them their mortal enemies, reckoned their faith and religion as 
nothing, and would no more communicate with the Angles than with dogs." 

\ This Theodebert was second cousin to Queen Bertha. Eadbald, son of 
Ethelbert and Bertha, married Emma, daughter of Theodebert II., and became 
King of Kent, A.D. 616. 



Sixth Century. 5 l 

in the spring of 597, and, through interpreters, informed Ethel- 
bert of their arrival. Soon the king and his pious queen met 
Augustine and his companions under heaven's open canopy, 
where no charm or enchantment could be practiced on his royal 
highness, such being an Anglo-Saxon superstition. Ethelbert 
listened attentively to what the strangers had to communicate 
about their kindly mission, then replied: " The doctrine you 
announce seems promising and fair, but as it is new and uncer- 
tain, we cannot assent to it and renounce the one we and our 
subjects have cherished so long. As you came from afar to 
preach to us a religion you believe true and best, we receive 
you kindly and supply you with all the comforts." 

Next the strangers were invited to Canterbury, where Ethel- 
bert gave them his palace, with permission to preach without 
hindrance. The Venerable Bede, in his Ecclesiastic History 
(A.D. 730), Lib. I., C. 25 and 26, gives a graphic description 
of this memorable event, which furnished the key-note to sub- 
sequent historians. Some say Ethelbert received baptism on 
Whitsunday, others at Pentecost, A.D. 597. 

The interview in the green field has been idealized by the 
English artist Tresham, in a picture representing Augustine, 
Host in hand, at the head of his companions, approaching Ethel- 
bert and Bertha. 

Miss Molesworth muses thus on the Cadmean alphabet : 

" The noble art from Cadmus took its rise, 
Of painting words and speaking to the eyes : 
He first in wondrous magic fetters bound 
The airy voice, and stopt the flying sound ; ] 
The various figures, by his pencil wrought, 
Gave coloring and body to the thought." 

As these felicitous lines befit the advent of writing among the 
Anglo-Saxons in Britain, A.D. 597, let us not pass this acqui- 
sition lightly ; for the perpetuation of thought, by means of al- 
phabetic characters, is the first important step in civilization. 
Without writing, man is only one degree above other animals ; 
because speech is but audible and transitory thought, whereas 
writing is visible and permanent. 

Animal utterance, sound, tone, may be summed up thus : 



52 Anglo-Saxon Period ', A.D. 449-1200. 

Man articulates, speaks, modulates, sings, chants, trills, whis- 
pers, murmurs, shouts, yells, bawls, groans, sighs, sobs, whines, 
weeps, whistles, and can imitate almost all the sounds of other 
animals. Infants cry, whimper, mewl, scream. Lower mam- 
malia chatter, neigh, bellow, bark, growl, yelp, howl, mew, roar, 
bray, grunt, squeal — the lamb bleats. Birds sing, modulate, 
whistle, warble, chirp, crow, cackle, whoop, screech — the dove 
coos. Reptiles hiss, croak, rattle. Insects chirp, buzz ; bees 
hum. Thus about forty-five verbs form the vocabulary of utter- 
ance throughout the animal kingdom, numbering 245,000 species, 
among which man alone can articulate, express, and perpetuate 
his feelings, thoughts and ideas in writing. He alone on this 
planet can write, print, telegraph and transmit his conceptions 
to posterity. Without this sublime faculty of transmitting thought, 
where would be the Pentateuch, 1452 B.C., Zend Avesta, Vedas, 
Homer's Iliad, Pythagoras', Socrates' and Plato's sublime ideas, 
Aristotle's, Pliny's, Copernicus', Newton's discoveries — aye, 
where would be Humboldt's "Kosmos" ? 

Who will then say that the advent of the Roman alphabet 
in Canterbury, to say nothing of the Gospel, numbers, calen- 
dar, and written hymns, was not the beginning of Anglo-Saxon 
progress ? Verily, Christianity and the Roman alphabet were 
"glad-tidings" to the Anglo-Saxons, whose descendants have 
since carried them to the uttermost isles and continents on the 
globe. 

Talk of the telegraph — extol it to the skies ! you cannot ex- 
haust the theme, for it is an intellectual triumph, a wonder; but 
consider the first alphabet, according to the best authorities — 
Phenician — that conveyed to you, to me, to generations to come, 
what transpired ages ago in Chaldee, Canaan, Egypt, Assyria, 
Phenicia, Greece, Rome — a contrivance that preserved and 
gave us the gems of literature and science of all nations and 
climes. Then tell me which of the two is the more important — 
the telegraph, shortening and almost annihilating space and 
time, or the alphabet, expanding and perpetuating thought. 
Forty centuries contemplate the latter, yesterday beheld the 
former. 

Plato and Cicero considered primitive alphabetic characters 
as divine gifts ; many Medieval and modern scholars espoused 



Sixth Century. 



53 



their ideas. The ancient Egyptians had such veneration for 
thought-expressing signs that they called them hieroglyphics 
(sacred carvings) j hence their worship of the animals whose 
figures they used as hieroglyphics. 

It is generally conceded that the Anglo-Saxon alphabet was 
formed from the Roman, A.D. 597, as shown by the following 
table. Since several letters resemble Greek characters, we add 
the Greek alphabet : 



Attic Greek, left to right, 
about 500 B.C. 


Latin or Roman. 


Anglo-Saxon, from Roman, 
A.D. 597- 


A 


A 


Aa 


B 


B 


Bb 


r 


TEC 


Ec 


A 


D 


DAb 


E 


E6e 


E€e 


F 


F 


F F 




G 


^5 


Z 


Z 


Z 


H 


H 


bh 





TH 


©P#> 


I 


I 


Ii 


K 


K 


Kk 


A 


L 


IrLl 


M 


Mm 


CDm 


N 


Nn 


Nn 


E 


X 


X 


, O 


O 





n 


P 


Pp 


4 


Q 




p 


RR 


Rn 


2 


S 


sr 


T 


T 


Tc 




U 


Uu 




vv 


?? 


Yv 




Yy 



We regret to find no cotemporary allusion to the framer of this 
new alphabet in Britain. The " Saxon Chronicle" mentions all 
the petty kings of the Heptarchy and their fights ; the advent 



54 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

and exit of every abbot ; also the accessions and deaths of the 
popes and bishops ; but not a word is said of the Anglo-Saxon 
alphabet and its inventor. Thus history has been a mere relation 
of wars and politico-diplomatic juggleries, in which the quiet, 
good, virtuous, and industrious intellectual workers hear no 
Christ-like " Well do?ie, good and 'faithful servant ; " but in which 
only intriguers and boisterous destroyers find their actions and 
names paraded. The ancients were not quite so negligent and 
devoid of justice ; for Cadmus, Palamedes and Simonides are 
honorably mentioned in connection with the Greek alphabet ; 
also Carvilius, for adding the letter G to the Roman alphabet, is 
mentioned by Plutarch. True, modern biography commends 
Pierre de la Ramee for supplying J and VXo our alphabet, A.D. 
1562 ; and the Elzevirs for using this improvement in their fine 
editions of the Classics. What a pity Augustine, instead of 
writing so many casuistic trivialities, did not tell posterity who 
formed the Anglo-Saxon alphabet, and the circumstances con- 
nected therewith ! Even the Venerable Bede, who wrote a cen- 
tury after Augustine, might have omitted one of his saints or 
seers to make room for the Anglo-Saxon alphabet's inventor, 
whose name would have been as acceptable to posterity as that 
of Cadmus in Herodotus. 

The Mceso-Gothic alphabet, more or less modified, was called 
Moder?i Gothic or black letter, which was used almost all over 
Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. The Franks first 
dropped the Gothic and adopted the Roman characters. Next 
the Goths in Spain renounced the Gothic and assumed the Roman 
letters by a decree of a synod at Lyons, A.D. 1091. In England 
the Gothic characters were last used for King James' version of 
the Bible, A.D. 161 1. The first edition of Shakespeare's writings, 
issued 1623, was in Roman characters. Germany alone holds 
on to her Gotho-Germanic hieroglyphics, which are more fantastic 
and grotesque than the Mceso-Gothic alphabet, invented by 
Ulfilas, A.D. 376. We do not represent the German alphabet 
in our table, because it is said Germany is inclined to change it 
for the Roman now used by all Christian nations, who govern 
466,000,000 (over one-third) of Earth's inhabitants. The Greek 
and Hebrew are known in colleges and seminaries all over 
Christendom. The Greek and Roman letters have been used 



Sixth Centtiry. 55 

over two centuries to name the stars, and are thus inscribed in 
the heavens, where they will probably remain as long as man- 
kind will continue to study the sublime science of the stars. 
The Mceso-Gothic alphabet has twenty-five and the Anglo-Saxon 
twenty-four characters. The Scandinavian races, Danes, Swedes, 
Norwegians, Orkneyans, Shetlanders, and Icelanders, had an al- 
phabet that numbered but sixteen different letters, which were 
called Scanic by some and Runic or Icelandic by others. 

Before leaving this subject, let us allude to a noteworthy and 
ingenious peculiarity in some Gotho-Germanic alphabets : our 
readers noticed a dot in Anglo-Saxon y, and a mark across D 3, 
which changed D d from a dental to a dento-aspirate letter, cor- 
responding to Greek and English th. The Scanic or Runic 
alphabet has eight of its sixteen letters with similar marks, 
whose object is not only to indicate a change of sound, but to 
increase the alphabet from sixteen to twenty- four letters with- 
out adding new characters. This mode of marking one and 
the same letter to indicate a change of sound is analogous to 
the Hebrew vowel points, Greek and French accents, and Ger- 
man umlaut. The ninety English-speaking millions of 1878 
might advantageously imitate this method to harmonize letter 
with sound, without adding new characters to their present al- 
phabet, thus avoiding destruction of type, printed books and 
libraries, and causing disturbance in education, reading, writing, 
and printing. 

The Anglo-Saxons had abbreviating signs for often recurring 
particles like and, that, or ; they frequently omitted the letter m 
and indicated its omission by a horizontal line over the letter 
that immediately preceded the m ; they also united the dip- 
thongs ce, and 03 into one character for each. 

Thus did the ancestors of the English give to their progeny an 
example of being short and telegraphic. No wonder the English 
and Americans are more inclined than any other nation to shorten 
words, names, and titles. 

The year A.D. 597 proved a real blessing to the Anglo-Saxons ; 
for it not only brought to them the Gospel, an alphabet, and sacred 
music, but the Roman figures and method of measuring time, as 
shown by the following Table : 



56 Anglo- Sax 07i Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

Roman Calendar among the Anglo-Saxons, A.D. 597 





Mar. Mai. 


Jan. Aug. 


Apr. Jun. 


Februar. 




Jul. Octob. 


Decemb. 


Sept. Nov. 




I 


Kalendse. 


Kalendas. 


Kalendas. 


Kalendas. 


2 


VI. Nonas. 


IV. Nonas. 


IV. Nonas. 


IV. Nonas. 


3 


V. Nonas. 


III. Nonas. 


III. Nonas. 


III. Nonas. 


4 


IV. Nonas. 


Pridie Nonas. 


Pridie Nonas. 


Pridie Nonae. 


5 


III. Nonas. 


Nonas. 


Nonas. 


Nonas. 


6 


Pridie Nonas. 


VIII. Idus. 


VIII. Idus. 


VIII. Idus. 


7 


Nonas. 


VII. Idus. 


VII. Idus. 


VII. Idus. 


8 


VIII. Idus. 


VI. Idus.- 


VI. Idus. 


VI. Idus. 


9 


VII. Idus. 


V. Idus. 


V. Idus. 


V. Idus. 


10 


VI. Idus. 


IV. Idus. 


IV. Idus. 


IV. Idus. 


11 


V. Idus. 


III. Idus. 


III. Idus. 


III. Idus. 


12 


IV. Idus. 


Pridie Idus. 


Pridie Idus. 


Pridie Idus. 


J 3 


III. Idus. 


Idus. 


Idus. 


Idus. 


14 


Pridie Idus. 


XTX. Kal. 


XVIII. Kal. 


XVI. Kal. 


15 


Idus. 


XVIII. Kal. 


XVII. Kal. 


XV. Kal. 


16 


XVII. Kal. 


XVII. Kal. 


XVI. Kal. 


XIV. Kal. 


17 


XVI. Kal. 


XVI. Kal. 


XV. Kal. 


XIII. Kal. 


18 


XV. Kal. 


XV. Kal. 


XIV. Kal. 


XII. Kal. 


1 9 


XIV. Kal. 


XIV. Kal. 


XIII. Kal. 


XI. Kal. 


20 


XIII. Kal. 


XIII. Kal. 


XII. Kal. 


X. Kal. 


21 


XII. Kal. 


XII. Kal. 


XI. Kal. 


IX. Kal. 


22 


XI. Kal. 


XI. Kal. 


X. Kal. 


VIII. Kal. 


23 


X. Kal. 


X. Kal. 


IX. Kal. 


VII. Kal. 


24 


IX. Kal. 


IX. Kal. 


VIII. Kal. 


VI. Kal. 


25 


VIII. Kal. 


VIII. Kal. 


VII. Kal. 


V. Kal. 


26 


VII. Kal. 


VII. Kal. 


VI. Kal. 


IV. Kal. 


27 


VI. Kal. 


VI. Kal. 


V. Kal. 


III. Kal. 


28 


V. Kal. 


V. Kal. 


IV. Kal. 


Pridie Kalendas ; 


29 


IV. Kal. 


IV. Kal. 


III. Kal. 


or II. Kalendas. 


3° 


III. Kal. 


III. Kal. 


Pridie Kalendas. 




3i 


Pridie Kalendas. 


Pridie Kalendas. 







Note, that in every Bissextile or Leap-Year, February reckons 29 days, and the 24th 
and 25th of that month are both written VI. Kal. Mart. 



With this calendar the Anglo-Saxons obtained the Roman 
numbers, and the faculty of dividing and counting time, which 
was an important acquisition ; for without numbers and division 
of time a community must be very primitive, not to say barba- 
rous. We first find the Roman figures in Ethelbert's Anglo- 
Saxon Code of Laws, A.D. 597, and in the "Saxon Chronicle." 
When we consider that Alfred the Great, about A.D. 889, devised 
wax candles to mark the hours of the day, then, to prevent their 
being blown out by the wind, he contrived horn lanterns, we 
may fully realize how important the Roman calendar was to 



Sixth Century. 57 

mark the dates of important writings and events. We read in 
Eginhard, secretary of Charlemagne, of a horologe of brass sent 
to Charlemagne by Abdalla, King of Persia, A. D. 800 ; also of 
clocks at Venice, A.D. 872 ; but the first really authentic account 
of a clock, marking and striking the hours for the public, was one 
made and placed in a tower of the palace of Charles V., King 
of France, by Henry de Vick about 1364. Next came the re- 
markable clock in the Cathedral of Strasburg, 1370. Under 
Richard II., Wallingford, Abbot of St. Albans, made an astro- 
nomic clock, regulated by a fly-wheel. Thus Horology, like all 
improvements, advanced slowly. But where are Roman calen- 
dars, almanacs and clocks now ? Almost every man and woman 
carry time in their pockets. Do we fully realize human progress ? 
Are we thankful for the comforts and luxuries, of which our an- 
cestors could not even dream ? The sixth century witnessed a 
great improvement in chronology, which had been singularly 
confused for a long time by the Roman Calendar, Julian Era, 
Cycles, Indictions, &c, till Dionysius Exjguus harmonized these 
diversities by the introduction of the Christian Era, about A.D. 
532, which was adopted by Rome and gradually by the Christian 
nations. 

Sacred Music, ever Christianity's handmaid, reached the Anglo- 
Saxons, A.D. 597. Pope Gregory composed and compiled a 
church-service of 130 pages, called " Gregorian A?itiphonary," a 
manuscript copy of which is now in the famous monastery of St. 
Gall, Switzerland. The Gregorian Chant was arranged according 
to the eight celebrated church modes. This style of music and 
chant Augustine carried among the Kentians. In olden times 
Sovereigns were musical devotees : at high festivals Charlemagne, 
attired in cope, was seen and heard among the Choir-singers ; 
and Alfred the Great charmed even his foes with his harp. I 
might allude to Orpheus' power over the Argonauts, and to Pan's 
over the Arcadian shepherds ; but, as the Sacred Record men- 
tions Jubal, Miriam, Deborah, and extols the soothing influence 
of David's harp on the melancholy Saul, I need comment no 
further on the civilizing art among the Anglo-Saxons, who, ac- 
cording to the Venerable Bede (Lib. IV. C. 2), paid thenceforth 
particular attention to vocal music and " Gregorian Chant." 

Bede (Lib. I. C. 29) tells us that Pope Gregory sent to Augus- 



58 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

tine (l many books.''' As there has been much comment about 
the books, taken to Britain by Mellitus, 601, I tried to ascertain, 
as far as possible, what they were : all I could find was, that in 1414 
Thomas of Elmham wrote a history of St. Augustine's Monastery, 
at Canterbury, in which the following manuscript books are men- 
tioned as lying on the altars : 

1. Gregory's Bible, in two volumes. 

2. Psalter of Augustine. 

3. Text of the Gospels. 

4. Another Psalter. 

5. Another Text of the Gospels. 

6. The Passionary of the Saints. 

7. Exposition of the Epistles and Gospels. 

Whether these were Bede's "many books" no one ventures to 
affirm or deny. All have disappeared except the two manuscript 
Gospels, which are yet shown at Corpus Christi College, Cam- 
bridge, and in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. Venerable relics, 
that have traversed thirteen hundred and seventy-eight years ! Pre- 
cious seed, that has produced a million-fold since Guttenberg's 
grand invention ! At the dissolution of religious foundations, 
under Henry VIII., 1536, one of these gospels fell into the hands 
of Lord Hatton, who placed it in the Bodleian Library at Ox- 
ford. It is believed this is a manuscript sent to Britain by 
Gregory, 601. 

Behold an epitome of what the three Gotho-Germanic tribes 
did in Britain during this century : The Jutes, Saxons and Angles 
completed their settlements, and their descendants founded the 
Heptarchy, of which King Ethelbert became " Bret-walda" 
(chief ruler), wedded (A.D. 570) the accomplished French prin- 
cess Bertha, connected with all the Gotho-Germanic royal fami- 
lies on the continent, and carried her to Canterbury, where from 
A.D. 570 to 597 her piety and Christian virtues attracted atten- 
tion and smoothed the way for Christianity among the simple- 
hearted Anglo-Saxons. This furnished to Pope Gregory I. oc- 
casion to send missionaries with the Gospel, church music, 
alphabet, calendar and books, to Canterbury. No doubt much 
was said, done, and perhaps written then and there ; but the 
only visible and tangible thing now extant is Ethelbert's Anglo- 
Saxon Code of A.D. 597, from which we take an Extract and 



Sixth Century. 59 

Table to show its style and the numeric origin of its vocabulary. 
It is a linguistic relic, of which the ninety English-speaking mil- 
lions of 1878 may justly feel proud; because it was the first 
written thought in any of the Medieval and modern languages, 
except Ulfilas' Gothic version of the Bible, A.D. 376., and perhaps 
" Leabhar nah-Uidhei" in Irish. Ethelbert's Code numbers 
eighty-nine articles, which have for their basis the Gospel motto : 
"Love thy neighbor as thyself." It was amended by his succes- 
sors, Lothair and Edric, from A.D. 675 to 685, and by Wihtred 
(A.D. 691-725). In his "Ecclesiastic History," A.D. 730, Bede 
alludes to it thus : " Among other benefits, Ethelbert, with the 
advice of wise men, made laws which, being written in Anglo- 
Saxon, are still observed by his people." 

Alfred the Great, speaking of Ethelbert's laws in his Anglo- 
Saxon Code, A.D. 878, says: U I gathered from diem such as 
appeared to me most just, and left the rest. Ethelbert was the 
first who received baptism among the Anglo-Saxons." 

Queer as Ethelbert's Code may seem at first sight, it is an im- 
provement upon the Code of our Asiatic ancestors, the Arzans, 
contained in the Zend Avesta. In the Arian Code certain offen- 
ces affected not only the guilty party, but also the nearest of kin. 
Three sets of punishments are mentioned therein : first, from five 
to one thousand blows ; second, the giving of a female to the 
offended party ; and third, a fine of gold. Whereas the punish- 
ments in Ethelbert's Code are fines of money, by which we 
realize that the Anglo-Saxons had much progressed as compared 
with their Arian sires of Asia ; yet murder, being only punished 
by a fine in money without confinement, as was the case with 
Ethelbert's laws, might seem too mild even to our most advanced 
philanthropists. 



60 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

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Sixth Century, 61 



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Sixth Century. 63 

In perusing Ethelbert's Code our readers may realize the true 
character and status of early Medieval society. Most conspicu- 
ous is the absence of respect for life and limb, to say nothing of 
property. "Love your neighbor as yourself. Do unto others 
as you would have them do unto you," were much needed, not 
only among the Anglo-Saxons of A.D. 597, but among their 
cotemporaries, whether Franks, Lombards, Germans, Goths, 
Danes, or Normans. Frequent impulsive violence and crime 
must have been committed to call forth legal clauses to prevent 
gouging out eyes, cutting off noses, ears, hands, fingers, feet, 
toes, and tearing off nails, which, it seems, were practised, not 
only during momentary passion and anger, but were inflicted 
deliberately as punishments. After alluding thus to the dark 
side of this primitive document, let us add that it exhibits among 
the Anglo-Saxons elements of civilization and customs we cherish 
and hold sacred now; prior to this code they had a medium of 
exchange, and consequently an idea of numbers and values, first 
traced by the Roman characters 1, V, L, X. They also knew the 
precious metals and the working thereof, as is evidenced by the 
mention of gold, lord-ring, scillinga, gylde, whence our gold, 
shillings, German and Dutch geld and German gulden. This 
code even points to a national poetic sentiment for ancient cus- 
toms, as evidenced by " gold finger" which reminds us of ring 
finger, wedding ring, and all the train of thought connected with 
our marriage ceremony. To see such a hallowed custom through 
a hoary hyperborean antiquity must be pleasant to posterity. 

Synopsis of the different words from the preceding Table of the sixth cen- 
tury : 
Greek: I ) ^ T _.._ . ^ 



Greco-Latin : 6 
Latin : 5 ) J, Total of the different words : ioo. 

Anglo-Saxon : 94 (• Gotho-Germanic : 94 

Hence the style of Anglo-Saxon writing in the sixth century shows a vo- 
cabulary of different words, containing ninety-four per cent. Gotho-Ger- 
manic or Anglo-Saxon, and six per cent. Greco-Latin. 

Twenty-six of the ninety-four different Anglo-Saxon words, or twenty-seven 
per cent., are now obsolete.* 

* This numeric result casts a decided shadow on Sharon Turner's five per 
cent, obsolete Anglo-Saxon words, as stated in his " History of the Anglo- 
Saxons." 



64 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

Fourteen of the ninety-four different Anglo-Saxon words, or fifteen per 
cent., are now spelt as they were in the sixth century. 

Archeologists write glowing accounts of pyramids and Cyclo- 
pean structures. Can there be more astounding monuments 
than the words finger and gold in the above Extract and Table 
from King Ethelbert's Code of A.D. 597? They were penned 
twelve hundred and eighty-one years ago as they are now in 
English and German. Thus is language, or petrified thought, 
more lasting and immutable than granite or marble. 

Note : Readers will please remember, that we mention all the authors and 
writings, penned in Anglo-Saxon from A.D. 597 to 1200, and give similar 
Extracts and Tables therefrom ; so we do the authors of the Franco-English 
period from A.D. 1200 to 1600. Thus we shall endeavor" to give a clear 
idea of the gradual evolution of the English language from century to cen- 
tury. 

In connection with Ethelbert's Code, A.D. 597, we must not 
omit to mention the oldest Irish MS. " Leabhar nah-Uidhei" 
now in the Royal Irish Academy of Dublin. Antiquarians claim 
that St. Ciaran, Abbot of Cluain-mic-Nois, wrote the original in 
the sixth century, but that the copy now shown at Dublin was 
made from the original of St. Ciaran by Moelmuiri Mac Ceilea- 
chair about A.D. 1100. Its contents are mostly heroic tales. 
Irish historians also mention the " Saltair of Tara" written by 
Cormac Mac Airt, King of Ireland from A.D. 227 to 266. It 
treats of Hibernia's laws and usages, but there seems to be no 
MS. thereof. 

As late as A.D. 1762, James Macpherson issued a book styled 
" Osszan," purporting to be a translation of two Gaelic poems 
called Fingal and Temora, by the ancient Scotch hero, Ossian, 
who lived and wrote in the third century. This work took 
England's literati by surprise. Hugh Blair, Prof, of Rhetoric at 
Edinburgh University, Dr. Henry, Lord Kaimes and all the 
Highlanders admired, sustained and defended Macpherson's at- 
tempt ; but Dr. Johnson pronounced the whole movement a 
forgery. Hume and Gibbon challenged any one to produce a 
MS. of any poem, ante-dating the sixteenth century. AbOut 
A.D. 1800, the learned Scotch historian, Malcolm Laing, proved 
from historic and intrinsic evidence that the so-called Ossianic 



Sixth Century. 65 

poems were spurious. Next the committee of the Highland 
Society of Edinburgh, appointed to investigate the matter, re- 
ported, 1805, "that they had ?wt been able to obtain any one poem 
the same in title and tenor with the poems of Ossian." This re- 
port consigned the pretended Ossianic poems to oblivion and 
put archeology on the qui vive against modern discoveries of 
ancient relics. 

Before leaving this age so propitious to Anglo-Saxon progress, 
let us allude to the earliest book that reached posterity from the 
Isle of Britain. Its author was Gildas, styled " The Wise" born 
in Wales about A.D. 511. He studied several years in France, 
returned, founded a church and school in Pembrokeshire, and 
wrote " De Bxcidio Britannia" (Destruction of Britain). True, 
like most books of that period, it was written in Latin ; but it 
was conceived in Gildas' native tongue, Cymric or Welsh, one 
of the primitive dialects of Britain. It soon found its way to the 
Anglo-Saxons, whose mode of thinking it shaped ; for, as early 
as A.D. 680, Caedmon paraphrased the Bible in a similar style, 
and A.D. 735, Bede speaks of Gildas, Lib. L, C. XXII. It is 
generally conceded that Gildas wrote about A.D. 546. 

The first written thought in any country makes an epoch, 
because thence date the rudiments of civilization. Thought, 
like all else in the universe, is magnetic, and attracts thought. 

The ancient British record, known as " Gildas' Chronicle," is 
divided into Preface, History and Epistle. In the first he speaks 
of his plan and style ; in the second he vividly depicts the ad- 
vent of Christianity into the British Isles, the rule of the Romans, 
their departure from Britain, the consequent ravages of the Picts 
and Scots, and the supineness of his countrymen in calling the 
Saxons. — The third is a sermon-like, vehement exhortation, anal- 
ogous to the Jewish prophecies and St. Paul's Epistles. 

All who trace their origin to Britain, may feel proud of this 
early originator of native written thought ; for his ideas and style 
are not only forcible, but original and impressive. Goeffrey of 
Monmouth, in his " Historia Britonum" Lib. I., C. 17 (A.D. 
1 147), speaks of Gildas in the highest terms, calling him "The 
Great Writer." 

After witnessing the advent of Christianity, alphabet, chro- 
nology, sacred music, written law among the Anglo-Saxons, and 
5 



66 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

the style of Gildas, Britain's first native author, some allusions to 
budding intellect and morals elsewhere may not come amiss. 
We must not pass unnoticed some of the tendencies rising in the 
British Isles at that period. Columba, styled the Apostle of the 
Highlanders, went to Scotland, where he preached about A.D. 
565, and founded in Iona an abbey and college that became 
renowned as a seat of learning. For several centuries the North- 
ern nations sent their youth to be educated there. Imagine a 
famed college at the northwestern confines of Europe in Iona, 
one of the Hebrides, whither the disappointed princes and no- 
bles went, ended their days in retirement, and were buried. 
Tourists might enjoy visiting the remains of that primitive 
abbey, college and resting-place, where curious epitaphs of 
many departed worthies are to be scanned. There Columba 
was the first abbot, and there he ended his career, A.D. 597. 
The Scotch have ever cherished the memory of Iona and their 
apostle. 

Next Columban and Gall started from the Emerald Isle for 
Europe about 585, to preach Christ to the Franks, Germans, 
Helvetians and Lombards. Columban founded the Monastery of 
Luxeuil in France, and that of Bobbio in Italy. Gall reared the 
Abbey of St. Gall in Switzerland, which has ever since been cel- 
ebrated for its rare manuscripts. Later Gall was made Bishop 
of Constance, where he is known as the Apostle of Switzerland. 
He wrote an epitome of the Scriptures, which is to be found in 
Basnage's " Thesaurus Monumentorum." Thus the British Isles 
shed their light abroad at an early date, and continue to do so 
now. 

About A.D. 590 the Bavarian princess Theodelifida married 
Agilulf, leader of the Lombards in Italy, and persuaded him 
to become a Christian. Thus the world has to thank two 
gentle women, Bertha and Theodelinda, for winning to Christ 
and civilization two distant Gotho-Germanic nations : the Anglo- 
Saxons in Britain and the Lombards in Italy during the sixth 
century. Among Pope Gregory's letters in the Patrologise are 
some to Theodelinda, written in the same style and spirit as 
those he wrote to Bertha and Ethelbert. 

In the sixth century all writing in Europe, with the exception 
of Ethelbert's Anglo-Saxon Code and perhaps Leabhar nah-Uidhei 



Six tli Century. 67 

in Irish, was done in Latin and Greek. As Latin pens were 
flying among most European nations, we can but mention the 
most prominent : Cassiodorus' books on history, mathematics, 
grammar, logic and music were valuable productions. It is to be 
regretted that his "History of the Goths" was lost; fortunately 
Jornandes had occasion to make an epitome of it that reached 
us. We already referred to Gregory of Tours' " History of the 
Franks," which contains matters not to be found elsewhere, con- 
cerning the conversion of the Franks, Burgundians and Anglo- 
Saxons. He alludes to the marriage of Bertha with Ethelbert. 
Boethius, whose " De Consolatione Philosophic" written in prison, 
was early translated into most European dialects, especially into 
Anglo-Saxon by the king, scholar, warrior, and statesman, Alfred 
the Great, about A.D. 890; next by some Frank into Francic, 
A.D. 950; then by Chaucer into Franco-English, 1380; and 
finally into English by Queen Elizabeth about 1550. Surely, no 
other ancient author could have had more eminent admirers and 
translators. Through this highly philosophic and moral treatise 
the Medieval nations became acquainted with the ideas of Aris- 
totle. Boethius also left a valuable treatise on mathematics. 
The suspicious Theodoric, after intrusting Boethius with the 
affairs of state, imprisoned him, and after a long confinement at 
Pavia, ordered him to be beheaded. 

The Greek Empire perpetuated its thought through most of 
literary and scientific departments. Procopius' " History of his 
own Times," in eight books, is a treasure of information. As he 
was a favorite of Justinian I., and secretary to Belisarius, he 
had ample opportunity to write an account of his day. His 
elegant style and veracity place him among the foremost of 
Greek historians/ " Malala's Chronicle," from the creation to 
the close of Justinian's reign, A.D. 565, deserves attention. 
Eutocius Commentaries on Apollonius and Archimedes laid 
the foundation for modern mathematics. We must not omit the 
eminent jurist Tribonian, who together with Theophilus, Doro- 
theus and six other jurists, revised the Greek and Roman con- 
stitutions, ordinances and decisions, and embodied the result 
into the famous Pandects, Digest or Institutes, during the brilliant 
and prosperous reign of Justinian I., A.D. 527-565, since known 
as " the Justinian Code," consisting of fifty books containing 534 



68 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

celebrated decisions, collected from 2,000 manuscript volumes, 
A manuscript of this famous Code was found at Amain, Italy, 
1 130. It is now in the library of Florence. As this great work 
has become the basis of most Medieval and modern codes, we 
mention it as a linguistic treasure. Olympiodorus' Commentary 
on Aristotle's "Meteorologica," formed the basis of modern 
meteorology. Greek medicine had a noble representative in 
Alexander of Tralles, who, after distinguishing himself in his 
native country, Lydia, went to Rome, where he won great celeb- 
rity. His work, entitled " Twelve Books 011 Medicine" has been 
oftener read and published than any other Greek or Latin medi- 
cal treatise. He may be styled the second Hippocrates. He 
first administered iron and practised venesection at the jugular 
vein, which, in this nineteenth century, has been placed among 
the things that were. Navigation, geography and travel had a 
worthy champion in Cosmas, surnamed u I?idicoplenstes" (Indian 
navigator), who, as a merchant of Alexandria, frequently sailed 
from Egypt to India and other countries. Towards the meridian 
of life he retired to a monastery and wrote " Christian Topogra- 
phy" in which he relates ingenuously what he saw, heard and 
experienced daring his travels, but states, among other queer 
ideas concerning the Earth's form, that it is not a sphere. 

Montfaucon, in his Collection of Greek Authors, 1706, issued 
Cosmas' Topography with a Latin translation. The Alexandrian 
merchant and monk also wrote a " Cosmography of the Southern 
Countries of Africa," "Astronomic Tables," and a commentary 
on the "Song of Solomon." From these intellectual treasures 
we may argue, that merchants of those days had no contracted 
notions about mere money and trade. True, Cosmas had an 
illustrious example in Pytheas, merchant of Marseilles, who sailed 
to Ultima Thule and the amber regions about B.C. 325, and 
wrote a brilliant account of his journey. 

One phase of Grecian thought of that period I cannot pass 
without due notice ; because it expressed itself so indelibly as to 
challenge the admiration of every beholder. The author was a 
Libyan, called Anthemius, according to whose ideas, calculations, 
and plans St. Sophia of Constantinople was reared. He was 
architect, mathematician, sculptor, and mechanician. His written 
works were lost, except a fragment containing problems of me- 



Sixth Century. 69 

chanics and dioptrics, translated by Dupuis and published in 
" Memoir es de V Academie des Inscriptions" 1777. Here part of 
one and the same man's thought was lost, while the other, petri- 
fied thirteen centuries ago, stands a lasting monument. 

Arabian brains and pens were active in this century ; for in 
Silvestre de Sacy's " Chrestomathie Arabe," 1820, are gems from 
Nabega's and Chanfary's celebrated poems. Also Hareth-ben- 
Hiliza's poems of the sixth century were published in Arabic 
and English at London, 1782. To find permanent expression, 
thought must be earnest, vigorous, impelling, and impressive. 
At the close of the sixth century, French, Italian, Spanish, Ger- 
man, Scandinavian, and Sclavonic thought was to*o evanescent 
to embody itself; of all the starting Medieval dialects, the one 
solitary exception, Anglo-Saxon, had become vigorous enough to 
embody itself in King Ethelbert's Code, which maybe considered 
not only as the dawn of written English thought, but as the ear- 
liest writing in any of the modern languages. The Irish " Saltair 
of Tara" and " Leabhar nah-Uidhei " are questionable as to the 
dates claimed for them. 

This train of ideas reminds me of some desultory musings : that 
mere vocally uttered thought revolves and vibrates forever in 
and with the electro-magnetic and atmospheric waves, and con- 
stantly knocks at intellect's door to enter for redigestion and 
permanent expression ; in short, thought, ideas, musings, though 
invisible, intangible and more ethereal than any fluid or gas, are 
less destructible than matter. As " the pen is mightier than the 
sword," so thought is mightier than matter. As thought, language 
and literature act and react on each other, we shall throughout 
this work allude to the languages and literatures that influenced 
Anglo-Saxon and her daughter, English. 

Our close numeric analysis of language reveals this curious 
fact : wherever and whenever Christ's "Ethics" reached a tribe, 
people, or race, they imparted a higher social and moral tone to 
their dialect or language ; for immediately, or very soon after, ar 
alphabet was adopted, formed or adjusted, in order to translate 
the new doctrines into the vernacular idiom. As we have pre- 
viously said, such was the case with the Mceso- Goths, for whom 
Ulfilas contrived the Gothic alphabet of twenty-five letters, and 
translated the Scriptures, A.D. 376. The Anglo-Saxons, who, on 



yo Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

the advent of the Gospel, formed an alphabet, framed their first 
code of laws and adopted the Roman numerals, calendar and 
church music, all of which exercised an immediate influence on 
the intellectual, social and moral status of the people. Such 
was undoubtedly the result among our Gotho-Germanic ancestors 
in Europe. To corroborate our idea, let us add a striking Asiatic 
experience : The Armenians, for whom Mesrob and Moses Cho- 
ronensis translated the Bible from Greek, Hebrew, Syriac and 
Chaldaic, A.D. 41 1-5 n, had to add seven vowel-signs to the 
old Armenian alphabet, consisting of twenty-seven consonants. 
Here the people had an alphabet and writing ; yet the Christian 
code of morals compelled more harmony in vocalization and 
writing, to say nothing of the clearness of thought, ideas, grammar 
and construction that became necessary. When we consider 
that Christ's teachings contained the essence, not only of Semitic 
and Arian, but of Greek and Latin civilization and morals, we 
shall cease to wonder that the engrafting them on any rude or 
primitive people, tribe or race required that their whole intel- 
lectual and social fabric should be prepared and adapted to 
receive them. 



SEVENTH CENTURY. 



44 England, in this period of darkness, produced some rays of intellectual light." — Pettit 
Andrews. » 

As Bede wrote his Ecclesiastic History, A.D. 731, only one 
hundred and fifteen years after Ethelbert's death, the important 
events that occurred at the close of the sixth century must have 
been fresh in the memory of the Anglo-Saxons. He tells us 
(Lib. I., C. 27), that Augustine sent Laurentius and Peter the 
Monk to inform Pope Gregory of the success of their mission. 
This news so rejoiced his Holiness, that he wrote to the Emperor 
Mauricius at Constantinople, and to Eulogius, Archbishop of 
Alexandria in Egypt, inviting them to share his delight at the 
conversion of pagans in the isles at the western confines of the 
Earth. Next Bede (Lib. I., C. 29) informs posterity that Greg- 
ory sent Mellitus, Justus, Paulinus, and Rufinianus to Britain 
with letters to Ethelbert, Bertha, and Augustine ; also presents, 
" besides ??iany books. 11 Behold the letters to the king and his 
zealous queen. 

" Patrologia?," Vol. 77, Lib. XL, Epistola LXVI. 
" Gregroy to Ethelbert, King of the Angles, July 10, A.D. 601.* 
"Glorious Son, 

" Keep with the utmost solicitude the grace you have divinely received; — 
hasten to expand Christianity among your subjects ; — increase your zeal in 
their conversion ; — harass the worship of idols ; destroy their temples, and 
improve the morals of your people in purity of life by exhorting, coaxing, 
threatening, punishing, and by showing examples of good actions, so that you 
may find in heaven the Reward er, whose name and knowledge you have ex- 
tended on Earth ; for he, whose honor you seek and preserve among the na- 
tions, will render your name glorious to posterity. Thus Constantine, for- 
merly the most pious Emperor, recalling the Roman empire from the perverse 

* Mellitus, first bishop of London, was bearer of this letter. 



J 2 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

worship of idols, turned with all his mind towards the almighty Lord our God 
Jesus Christ. Thence it happened that this great man surpassed in glory the 
name of prior Princes and excelled his predecessors as much in public opinion 
as in good works. 

" I send you small presents, which will not seem small when you consider 
that they carry with them the benediction of the blessed Apostle Peter." 

" Patrologicc," Vol. 77, Lib. XL, Epistola XXIX. 
"Gregory to Bertha, Queen of the Angles, July 10, A.D. 601.* 

"Laurentius, the presbyter, and Peter, the monk, on their return informed 
us of your Majesty's kindness to our most reverend brother Augustine. We 
thanked Almighty God for having propitiously deigned to reserve as your re- 
ward the conversion of the nation of the Angles. As through the illustrious 
Helena, mother of the pious Emperor Constantine, God kindled the hearts 
of the Romans towards the Christian faith, so, through the zeal of your 
Majesty, his mercy will bring about the conversion of the nation of the Angles. 
Indeed from prudential motives, like a reverend Christian, you considered it 
your duty to turn the mind of our glorious son, your consort, so that for the 
salvation of his kingdom and of his own soul, he might share the religion you 
follow ; inasmuch as from him and through him, and from the conversion of 
the entire nation, a worthy reward in heavenly joys might come to you. For, 
as we said, after your Majesty was fortified in the true faith, and instructed 
in its literal meaning, it must have appeared to you neither tardy nor difficult. 
Since the time is now propitious, act, with God's helping your grace, so as to 
be able to regain with an increase what may have been neglected." 

King Ethelbert's Deed of the Land, Monastery and Church of 
St. Peter and Paul, commonly called St. Augustine's. 

" Patrologice" Vol. 80, pp. 341 and 342. 

"In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, A.D. 605. 

" Be it known to all present and to posterity, that I, Ethelbert, by the 
grace of God, King of the Angles, when from an idolater I was to become a 
worshiper of Christ under the guidance of my evangelic parent Augustine, by 
whose advice I transferred to God part of the land under my jurisdiction near 
the eastern wall of the city of Dorobern \ (Canterbury), where with his assist- 
ance, I founded a Monastery to Christ in honor of the Apostolic Princes 
Peter and Paul, and made a perpetual grant of that same land, with all that 



* Mellitus, first bishop of London, was bearer of this letter. 

\ Canterbury, or part thereof, was then called Doroberiiensis and Dorober- 
hcb. In Bede's "Ecclesiastic History," Lib. I., C. 25 (A.D. 735), we find 
Doruvernis for Canterbury. 



Seventh Century. 73 

belongs to the Monastery, so that neither I nor any of my royal successors, 
nor any ecclesiastic or secular power shall hereafter have a right to interfere 
in any way ; but all is to be under the rule of the abbot himself. 

" If any one attempt to diminish or annul anything of this our deed, he 
shall by authority of the blessed Pope Gregory, by that of our Apostle Au- 
gustine, and with our curse, be excluded from the communion of the holy 
church and from the entire company of the elect on the last day of judgment. 
" The land, whereon the Monastery of the Apostles Peter and Paul is situ- 
ated, and also the adjoining land, is bounded : East by St. Martin's * church, 
thence easterly by Siwenidotme and so northerly by Wykyngmearch, again 
south-easterly by Bureyaremearch, and so south-westerly by Kyiigesmearch, 
again north easterly by Kyngesmearch, and so westerly to Ritherchepe, and 
thus northerly to Dryttingstrete. 

"It was executed in the city of Dorobern (Canterbury) in the year from 
Christ's incarnation 605, indiction VI. 

"I, Ethelbert, King of the Angles, confirmed this my donation by the 
sign of the holy cross f with my own hand. 

" I, Augustine, through God's grace, archbishop, willingly subscribed. 

" I, Eadbald, the king's son, do. 

" I, Hanugus' son, general, lauded. 

" I, Hocca, page, consented. 

" I, Andemund, referee, approved. 

" I, Graphio, page, blessed. 

" I, Tangus' son of the king's nobility, confh-med. 

"I, Pinca, consented. 

"I, Geddi, corroborated.":}: 



* Bede, Lib. I., C. 26 : "A church anciently built in honor of St. Martin, 
while the Romans still inhabited Britain, in which the Queen {Bertha) who, 
as I before said, was a Christian, was accustomed to pray." 

j- As among the ten signers of this document the king alone used the cross, 
it would seem that it was a royal prerogative. No wonder grandees and 
,nobles imitated it during the Dark Ages. 

\ In nomine Domini nostri Jesu Christi (A.D. 605). Notum sit omnibus 
tarn praesentibus quam posteris. quod ego Athelbertus, Dei gratia rex Anglo- 
rum, per Evangelicum genitorem meum Augustinum de idolatra facturus 
christicola tradidi Deo per ipsum antistitem aliquam partem terrse juris mei, 
sub orientali muro civitatis Dorobernensis, ubi scilicet per eumdem in Christo 
institutorem monasterium in honore principum apostolorum Petri et Pauli 
condidi, et cum ipsa terra et cum omnibus quae ad ipsum monasterium 
pertinent perpetua libertate donavi adeo (ut nee) mild, nee aliorum successo- 
rum meorum regum, nee ulli unquam potestati sive ecclesiastical sive sceculari, 
quidquam inde liceat usurpare ; sed in ipsius abbatis sint omnia libera ditione : 
si quis vero de hac donatione nostra aliquid minuere aut irritum facere tenta- 
verit, auctoritate beati papce Gregorii nostri que apostoli Augustini simul et 



74 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

As this document traversed twelve hundred and seventy years, 
it must not only interest antiquarians, but scholars generally. 

While the jurist might notice its unlaw-like style, its quaint- 
ness and the queer mode of signing and witnessing (doubtless 
Roman) ; the philologist cannot help remarking the unlatinized 
Anglo-Saxon names of localities. 

The deed conveyed sixteen acres near the Eastern wall of the 
city of Canterbury. Tradition says Ethelbert and Augustine 
began the abbey A.D. 598, and completed it A.D. 605, when 
the deed of the land, monastery and appurtenances was executed. 
Thenceforth that primitive Anglo-Saxon institution flourished till 
A.D. 1536, when Parliament decreed the Dissolution of Monas- 
tic foundations, and confirmed their seizure, A.D. 1539, which 
gave to Henry VIII. 645 monasteries, 90 colleges, 2,374 chan- 
tries and chapels, and no hospitals, whose yearly revenue was 
^161,100. The furniture, utensils, bells, &c, of these establish- 
ments must have realized vast sums. In one of the monasteries 
were found 5,000 marks of bullion; what may have been the 
amounts found in the other 644, is left to conjecture. These 
figures may seem trifling, when compared with those of our pub- 
lic revenues and debts, announced in thousands of millions; but 
in the days when a bushel of wheat sold for fourteen pence and 
forty eggs for a penny, ^161,100 was an immense sum. 

These financial details are culled from Camden. 

Peter, the monk, who came to Britain with Augustine, was the 

nostra imprecatione sit hie segregatus ab omni sanctse Ecclesise communione, 
et in die judicii ab omni electorum societate. Circumcingitur hoec terra, ubi 
situm est monasterium apostolorum Petri et Pauli cum terra adjacente his 
limitibus : in oriente ecclesia sancti Martini et inde ad Orientem be siweni- 
doune, et sic ad Aquilonem be wykyngmearch, iterum ad Orientem et ad 
Austrum be bureyai-e?nearch, et sic ad Austram et Occidentem be Ky?iges- 
mearch, iterum ad Aquilonem et Orientem be Kyngesmearch, sicque ad Occi- 
dentem to Ritherchepe, et ita ad Aquilonem to d?yitingstrete. Actum est in 
civitate Doroberniae anno ab incarnatione Christi DCV., indictione VI. Ego, 
Athelbertus, rex Anglorum, hauc donationem meam signo sanctse crucis pro- 
pria manu, confirmavi. Ego, Augustinus gratia Dei archiepiscopus, libenter 
subscripsi. Ego, Aswaldus, regis filius, facio. Ego, Hanugi filius, dux, 
•laudavi. Ego/ Plocca, comes, consensi. Ego, Andemundus, referendarius, 
approbavi. Ego, Graphio, comes, benedixi. Ego, Tangi filius, regis opti- 
mas, confirmavi. Ego, Pinca, consensi. Ego, Geddi, corroberavi." 



Seventh Century. 75 

first abbot of St. Augustine's monastery, A.D. 605 ; the last abbot 
(A.D. 1639) was J onn Essex, who it is said would not surrender 
the monastery, till two cannons were pointed at it. This peremp- 
tory royal notice, after 934 years' possession, caused Abbot John 
Essex and his thirty monks to quit quarters, perpetually granted 
to Archbishop Augustine by King Ethelbert. When will sover- 
eigns, senates and legislatures realize, that perpetual is a term 
posterity will not respect ? As men and even nations are not 
perpetual, how can their grants be perpetual, especially grants 
made to the few that may become onerous to the many ? Such 
was the case with ancient grants to the church. Hence, England 
need not look beyond the Reformation and mourn over the non- 
fulfilment of the term perpetual, since the many were benefited 
physically, intellectually and morally, and since her commerce 
and language encircle the globe. 

Henry VIII. reserved part of St. Augustine's monastery as a 
royal palace. Under Charles I. these memorable premises were 
given to the Lords Wotton, whose descendants own them now. 

King Ethelbert, Queen Bertha, Bishop Luidhard, Eadbald, his 
Queen Emma (Austrasian Princess), Ethelburga, and other 
Kentish kings, queens, princes, and princesses, were buried in 
this monastery ; so were Archbishop Augustine and his succes- 
sors for two centuries after the introduction of Christianity. 

The ruin, now standing on the spot covered by the above 
deed, will attract the archaeologist's attention. Every intelligent 
beholder will be reminded of the stirring events that long hal- 
lowed and then saddened the remembrance of Ethelbert's and 
Bertha's resting-place in St. Augustine's monastery. Who can 
help blessing the memory of that most exemplary king and 
queen ? No wonder both England and Germany glory in the 
name of Albert, which is but abbreviated Ethelbert ! But, alas ! 
the comparative oblivion of the good, pious, spotless Bertha, 
seems to me, not only ungallant and unjust, but painful. Since 
most English historians hardly mention her name, I cannot help 
citing this short, but beautiful tribute from Ethelbert's biographer : 

" Tradition records the gentle and lovable virtues of Queen Bertha, but 
little is known of her life ; she has left but a brief and uncertain illumination 
on those distant and dark horizons, over which she sits a star, the herald of 
the sun." 



y6 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

Pope Gregory I. and Archbishop Augustine both died about 
A.D. 605. As the English have abbreviated their Apostle's name 
to St. Austin, and hold him in high esteem, I shall attempt no 
eulogy. Gregory was the master-mind of his epoch : son of a 
Roman senator, named Gordianus, he was the scholar, author, 
pope, and statesman, respected abroad and cherished at home. 
While Legate at Constantinople, he stood god-father to the Em- 
peror's grandson. He deservedly gained the surname "Great." 

He fully appreciated the influence of women, and used it dex- 
terously for the diffusion of Christianity and civilization, as may 
be realized by his letters to Brunehaut, Bertha, and Theodelinda, 
Queen of the benighted Lombards in Italy. His five quarto vol- 
umes of commentaries on the Bible, pastorals, dialogues and 
letters, all written in classic Greek or Latin, proved him the 
scholar. His zeal and efforts to convert the barbarous hordes of 
Europe and gain them to civilization, show him the philanthro- 
pist and statesman. He had one weakness : he overrated mon- 
asteries and convents, not considering that they are diametrically 
opposed to the great primitive injunction : "In the sweat of thy 
face shalt thou eat bread." He little dreamed that they would 
become a canker on the body politic, as they have since proved 
all over Europe. Activity and not contemplation is man's vo- 
cation on Earth. 

However, it was against his own will that the modest Bene- 
dictine monk, the son of Senator Gordianus, was elected Pope. 
He tried to make use of Justinian's decree, that the Pope's 
election is not valid unless sanctioned by the Emperor : he 
wrote to the Emperor Maurice, imploring him to refuse consent 
to his election ; but the letter was intercepted by the Prefect of 
Rome, and Maurice sent a ratification of his election. His letter 
to a friend, who had congratulated him on his elevation, is a model 
of self-denial, showing his real character and tastes. Of him 
the Venerable Bede (Ecclesiast. Hist., B. II.) says : "Other pon- 
tiffs labored in building churches and ornamenting them with gold 
and silver, but he was entirely employed in gaining souls. What- 
ever money he had, he diligently took care to distribute to the 
poor." 

The pious Bertha and the good Luidhard soon followed Greg- 
ory and Augustine to man's home of endless progress. Ethel 



Seventh Century. 77 

bert married again, but his second choice was not as worthy as 
his first. He died 616. Rome sainted Gregory, Ethelbert, 
Augustine, and Luidhard; but omitted the excellent Bertha, 
without whose influence the names of the three last would scarcely 
have reached us. Not only civil, but religious governments glori- 
fied conspicuous men, and overlooked modest, but efficient 
women. Alfred the Great, in his Code of Laws, A.D. 890, pays 
this delicate compliment to the first Christian sovereign of Kent : 
" In my collection are found laws of Ethelbert, who took baptism 
first among the A?iglo-Saxon race." Ethelbert and Bertha left a 
son, who married Emma, granddaughter of Queen Brunehaut, and 
his own cousin. He succeeded his father and reigned till 640. 
Of Queen Emma, Bradshaw wrote (1500) : 

" Lady Emma of France the chosen flower." 

We have witnessed the initial blessings of Christianity and civil- 
ization in Kent among the descendants of the Jutes (Guthi, Getae, 
Goths) ; let us now attend its advent among the Angles, who 
also received it through an innocent princess, only daughter of 
Ethelbert and Bertha, named Ethelburga, married to Edwin, 
King of Northumbria, who was baptized with his people at Easter, 
A.D. 627. As this conversion was so edifying, we will for a 
moment listen to some of the reflections offered on that occasion 
by the Wita (wise men) of that obscure Anglo-Saxon people 
twelve centuries ago : Paulinus, sent from Rome to Canterbury 
by Pope Gregory, 601, accompanied Ethelburga to Edwin's court, 
where, like the wise Luidhard, he officiated for Queen Ethelburga. 
The gentleness and polish of these strangers soon attracted the 
simple-hearted Angles. Edwin was, no doubt, the first who re- 
volved in his mind the introduction of a religion and manners far 
transcending those he and his benighted subjects had hitherto 
cherished and practised. Ethelburga, styled Tatce (The Silent), 
on account of her modest reticence, bespoke her consort and 
people by looks, manners, and deeds more expressive and win- 
ning than words. 

When Edwin had seen for a while the superior virtues of his 
queen and guests, he became thoughtful and sat alone for hours. 
At length he broke his silence and conferred first with his imme- 
diate friends and counsellors, next with his Witenagemotte (Assem- 



78 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

bly of the Wise), about the new religion brought to their country. 
Coin, chief of the Anglish priests, sympathized with Edwin and 
declared his willingness to substitute Christ's altars for those of 
Odin ; but the following wild analogy characteristic of primitive 
thought, uttered by one of the nobles, deserves our utmost atten- 
tion on account of its graphic analysis and synthesis : 

" The present life of man on Earth seems to me, O King, in comparison 
of that unknown to us, such as if — when you are sitting at supper with your 
leaders and ministers in winter time, after a fire has been kindled and made 
to glow in the supper-room, while storms are raging without — a sparrow 
should come and fly very quickly through the house, entering by one door and 
going out by another. While within he is untouched by the wintry storm ; 
yet, after a short time of serenity, he glides from your eyes and returns to the 
wintry cold he had just left. So this life appears for a short time ; but of 
what follows or preceded we are totally ignorant. Wherefore, if this new 
doctrine has brought anything more certain, it deserves to be followed." 

The other Anglish elders endorsed King Edwin, Coifi, and the 
sage who uttered this primitive simile ; and, as previously stated, 
the king and his people welcomed the "glad tidings." The 
substance of these details is taken from the works of Bede, who 
wrote, A.D. 730, and obtained them from cotemporaries. Soon 
the Saxons, following the Jutes and Angles, listened to the Gospel, 
exchanged Odin for Christ, and entered upon a life of progress 
with their more advanced countrymen. 

As Hume says : "The fair sex have had the merit of introduc- 
ing the Christian doctrine into all the most considerable kingdoms 
of the Saxon Heptarchy." 

Eanfieda, King Edwin's daughter, adorned with all the virtues 
of her mother Ethelburga and grandmother Bertha, married 
Oswy, whose daughter, Alchfieda, married the Mercian King, 
Peada, whom she gained to Christianity with all his people, 655. 
We must not omit Ethelbert's sister, Ricola, and her son Seabert, 
king of the East Saxons, whom he and his pious mother won to the 
Christian faith as early as 604. Ethelbert and Seabert founded 
St. Paul's cathedral in London, where Mellitus was the first bishop. 

Thus the favored royal couple, Ethelbert and Bertha, were 
instrumental in uniting the Anglo-Saxons, Franks, Goths, and 
Rome, not only in a Christian, but international brotherhood 
that has been, is, and will be expanding all over the Earth. 



Seventh Century. 79 

The gospel came to the East Angles through their King Sige- 
bert, 629. As this event is so simply related by Bede, Lib. III., 
C. 18, let us quote : " Sigebert ruled the kingdom of the East 
Angles, a good and religious man, who previously in France, 
while he was living there to avoid the enmity of Redwald, received 
the washing of baptism, and, having returned to his country, when 
he obtained the kingdom, being desirous to imitate those things 
he had seen well ordered in France, founded a school in which 
boys might be instructed in letters." Some say Sigebert' s school 
was the origin of the University of Cambridge. 

Christianity spread to Deira, A.D. 634; to the West Angles, 
635 ; to the Middle Angles, 653, and to the Isle of Wight, 661. 
Thus, from A.D. 597 to 661, or within sixty-four years, the "glad 
tidings " spread over the entire Heptarchy. Thenceforth u E?igla~ 
land" (Saxon Chron., A.D. 616) started on her grand career, and 
has gone on conquering and to conquer over the whole globe. 

To Bertha, prime mover and soul of Anglo-Saxon civilization, 
was inscribed this simple yet beautiful distich : 

" Moribus ornata jacet hie Regina beata 
Bertha, Deo grata fuit ac homini peramata." 

" Here lies blessed Queen Bertha, eminent in morals; 
She was dear to God and much cherished by men." 

Among about sixty curious Anglo-Saxon coins, now extant, 
are four that refer to Ethelbert ; on two of the four the name is 
Anglo-Saxon ; on another Latin. Two are with and two without 
the cross. Two have Ethelbert' s bust, one pretty well executed, 
the other crude. On two of these four coins is a singular mytho- 
historic simile ; some quadruped nursing infant twins. One of 
the quadrupeds looks like a mare, the other, with the Latin wri- 
ting, looks like a wolf. We can only suppose that the simile of 
Romulus and Remus, sucking a she-wolf, was applied to the 
Jutish brothers Hengist and Horsa, Ethelbert's ancestors, who 
came to Britain with the Jutes, A.D. 449. As Horsa, brother of 
Hengist, assumed his name from the Gotho-Germanic word horse, 
this singular coin seems to indicate, that there has been some 
tradition of the two Gotho-Germanic brothers having been nursed 
by a mare ; the Roman fable being merely transferred from the 
wolf to the horse. 



80 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

The two coins with the cross were undoubtedly struck after 
Ethelbert's conversion. As these coins are in Ingram's " Saxon 
Chronicle" L. E., 1823, we refer readers thereto. 

The seventh century had the honor of producing Caedmon, 
styled "The Father of Anglo-Saxon Poetry," who must have 
been in his prime about A.D. 650 ; for we are told he died 680. 
As the Venerable Bede was born about 673, we cannot do better 
than learn from him what was known, in his day, of this remark- 
able genius : 

"In the monastery of the Abbess (Hilda) was a certain brother, especially 
mai-ked by Divine grace, since he was wont to make songs suited to religion 
and piety, so that whatever he had learnt from Divine writing through inter- 
preters, this he, in a little while, produced in poetical expressions, composed 
with the greatest harmony and accuracy in his own tongue, that is, in that of 
the Angles." 

According to Bede, Caedmon had been the cattle-herd of the 
monastery of Whitby, into which he was taken by order of Abbess 
Hilda, ordained monk, and instructed in the whole course of sa- 
cred history, which, from hearing and thinking over, he turned into 
sweet song, and made his teachers his hearers. He sang of the 
creation, the origin of man, and the whole history of Genesis ; 
concerning the going out of Israel from Egypt, etc. ; of the 
Lord's passion, resurrection, and ascension ; of the coming of the 
Holy Ghost, and of the teachings of the Apostles. Behold some 
of posterity's dicta on England's earliest bard: 

Hickes questions the genuineness of Caedmon's Paraphrase ; 
but the learned Thorpe, who translated it with critical notes, tells 
us that objections like those of Hickes can in no way affect its 
authenticity. 

In his "Poets and Poetry of Europe " Longfellow thus intro- 
duces the singer of Whitby : 

"The next work, to which I would call the attention of my 
readers, is very remarkable, both in a philological and in a poeti- 
cal point of view, &c. It is Caedmon's Paraphrase of Portions 
of Holy Writ." 

We are told Caedmon's first hymn in praise of the Creator, 
was sung in the stable among the cattle. As our readers might 
miss this early poetic effusion, we quote : 



Seventh Century. 



81 



The two MSS. of Caedmorfs Hymn, now extant . 



Caedmon MS., ascribed to 
A.D. 737, found at Nor 
wich ; now in the University 


Caedmon MS. by King Al- 
fred, A.D. 885, now at Ox- 
ford. 


Literal English. 


Library. Cambridge. 




" Nu scylun hergan 


" Nu we sceolan herian, 


Now shall we praise 


hefaen ricaes uard 


heofon-rices weard. 


heaven-kingdom's warden, 


Metudaes maecti 


metodes mihte. 


the Creator's might, 


end his mod gidanc 


and his mod-gethonc. 


and his mind's thought, 


uerc uuldur fadur 


wera wuldor-faeder. 


glorious Father of men 


sue de uundra gihnaes 


swa he wundra gehwacs. 


as of every wonder, 


eci drictin 


ece dryhten. 


eternal Lord, 


or astelidae. 


oord onstealde. 


the beginning he formed. 


He aerist scop 


he aerest gesceop. 


He first created 


elda barnum 


eorthan bearnum. 


for Earth's children 


heben til hrofe 


heofon to hrofe. 


heaven as a roof; 


haleg scepen 


halig scyppend. 


holy Creator ! 


tha middun geard 


tha middan geard. 


then mid-Earth, 


mon cynnaes uard 


mon cynnes weard. 


mankind's guardian, 


eci dryctin 


ece dryhten. 


eternal Lord, 


aefter tiadae 


aefter teode. 


afterwards produced 


firum foldu 


firum foldan. 


for men the ground, 


frea allmectig." 


frea aelmihtig." 


Lord Almighty ! 


This is considered the oldest 


King Alfred was sure he 




Anglo-Saxon MS. extant. 


was inserting Caedmon' s 




Caedmon died A.D. 680. 


song in his works ; for he 




Bede, about fifty years after, 


says : " thara. endebyrd- 




translated this pious effusion 


nes " (of which the order is 




into Latin, Lib. IV, C. 24. 


this). 





By comparing these two MSS., it may be realized how the 
Anglo-Saxon dialect changed in two hundred years. 

The most remarkable discovery of late is the " Ruthwell 
Cross," on which is this inscription : " Cadmon moe fauaeJ>o." 
On this monument are also engraved about thirty lines of Runes, 
that have been traced to 680, the year of the Northumbrian 
poet's death. 

As the poem here found is doubtless the oldest Anglo-Saxon 
writing, unaltered by copyists and transcribers, I give it here with 
a literal translation : 



geredae hinae 
God almeyottig 
pa he walde 
on galgu gi-stiga 
modig fore 
(ale) men 

(ahof) ic riicnse cuningc 
heafunaes hlafard 
haelda ic(n)i darstae 
bismaeraedu ungcet men ba 

aetgad(r)e 
ic(waes) mib blodaebistemid 
6 



Girded him 
God Almighty 
when he would 
on gallows mount 
proud for 
all men 

I heaved the rich King 
heaven's lord 
heel (over) I not durst 
mocked us men both 

together 
I was with blood besmeared 



82 



Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 



Krist waes on rodi 

hweprae per fusae 

fearran kwomu 

aeppilae ti lanum 

icpaet al bi(h)ea](d) 

s(eoc) ic waes 

mi(p) sorgu(^z) gi(d) rac(/V)d 

mip strelum giwundaed 

alegdun hiae hinae limwae 

rignae 
gistoddun him (aet) h(is l)i 

caes(/j) eaf (du)m 



Christ was on rood 

whither there confusedly 

afar they came 

the Prince to aid 

I that all beheld 

sick I was 

with sorrow grieved 

with arrows wounded 

laid down they him limb 

weary 
they stood (near) him (at) his 

corpse's head. 



Thus the erudite Kemble rendered the Runes on the Ruthwell 
Stone, 1840. Shortly after he was so confirmed by an old parch- 
ment book, found at Vercelli, Italy, that he had to alter but three 
letters of his version. The Vercelli parchment book is in Anglo- 
Saxon, which clears up Kemble's rendering of the "Ruthwell 
Cross" inscription. By these Runes we also learn that the bard's 
name was "Cadmon," and not Caedmon. 

The style of this primitive Anglo-Saxon poet was suited to old 
Norse ideas; for he calls the Creator "mankinds Warden" 
Heaven kingdom's Warden, Governor, Eternal Elder, Life Lord, 
illustrious Lord, Holy Shaper, Glorious Father, Heaven's high 
King, the hosfs glorious Ki?ig, etc. 

Christ he names "Prince, Young Hero" etc. ; Angels he calls : 
11 illustrious ministers," etc.; Heaven: "bright bliss," etc.; 
Hell : " the punishment house for exiles, perpetual night foul," etc. 

To give a clearer idea of Anglo-Saxon progress at this period, 
and of the inspirations uttered by England's Homer and Hesiod, 
we give some specimens from his scriptural Paraphrase, so feli- 
citously translated by the American bard, Longfellow : 



Gleanings from Caedmon's Paraphrase of Genesis. 

" There had not here as yet, 
Save cavern-shade, 
Aught been ; 



But this wide abyss 

Stood deep and dim, • 

Strange to its Lord, 

Idle and useless ; 

On which looked with his eyes 



The King of firm mind, 
And beheld those places 
Void of joys; 
Saw the dark cloud 
Lower in eternal night, 
Swart under heayen, 
Dark and waste, 
Until this worldly creation 



Seventh Cejitury. 



83 



Through the word existed 
Of the glory-King. 

Here first shaped 
The Lord eternal, 
Chief of all creatures, 
Heaven and Earth; 
The firmament upreared, 
And this spacious land 
Established, 
By his strong powers, 
The Lord almighty. 
The Earth as yet was 
Not green with grass ; 
Ocean covered, 
Swart in eternal night, 
Far and wide, 
The dusky ways. 

Then was the glory-bright 
Spirit of heaven's Guardian 
Borne over the deep 
With utmost speed: 
The Creator of angels bade 
The Lord of life, 
Light to come forth 
Over the spacious deep. 
Quickly faas fulfilled 
The high King's behest," &c. 

" Adam spake, 

Where on earth he stood, 

A self- created man : 
* When I the Lord of triumph, 

The mighty God 

Heard speak 

With strong voice ; 

And he me here standing bade 

Hold his commandments, 

And one gave this bride, 

This wife of beauteous mien ; 

And me bade beware, 

That in the tree of death 

I were not deceived, 

Too much seduced ; 



He said, that the swart hell 
Should inhabit 
He, who, in his heart aught, 
Should admit of sin. [with lies, 
I know not (for thou mayst come 
Through dark design) 
That thou art the Lord's 
Messenger from heaven. 
Nay, I cannot of thy orders, 
Of thy words, nor courses, 
Aught understand, [ings,' " &c. 
Of thy journey, nor of thy say- 

" Then to her spouse she spake : 
' Adam, my Lord, 

This fruit is so sweet, 

Mild in the breast, 

And this bright messenger 

God's angel good ; 

I by his habit see 

That he is the envoy 

Of our Lord, 

Heaven's King. 

His favor is for us 

Better to gain 

Than his aversion. 

If thou to him this day 

Spake aught of harm, 

Yet will he it forgive 

If we to him obedience 

Will show. [strife 

What shall profit thee such hateful 

With thy Lord's messenger ? 

To us is his favor needful ; 

He may bear our errands 

To the all-powerful 

Heavenly King. 

I can see from hence 

Where He Himself sitteth, 

That is south-east, 

With bliss encircled, 

Him, who formed this world,' " &c. 



Such effusions on Genesis at Whitby, thirteen centuries ago, 
not only show original ideas, but original ways of expressing 



84 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

them. Verily England did think and write powerfully even in 
those primitive days and places. 

Now a word of Hilda, the foundress of Whitby, where the 
primitive Anglo-Saxon bard, Caedmon, was encouraged to de- 
velop his musing talents : Hilda was niece of King Edwin, whose 
gallantry and piety we portrayed in the opening of this century. 
She was converted to Christianity in her childhood ; founded the 
convent of Hearthen (afterwards Whitby) about A.D. 655. Under 
her tuition Caedmon took care of the cattle, mused and chanted 
his poetic strains. We read that the pious and accomplished 
princess died in the same year as Caedmon, A.D. 680. Here is 
another Medieval woman, to whom the English-speaking peoples 
owe a debt of gratitude for fostering native genius, and with it 
civilization and progress. Without Hilda's timely encouragement, 
the ninety English-speaking millions could probably not point 
with pride to an Anglo-Saxon Homer of the seventh century. 

Latin intellectual light had shone upon the Anglo-Saxons 
seventy-two years, and nearly seven centuries had elapsed since 
Paul had preached the " unknown God" to the Athenians, when 
Greek intellectual rays reached Britain through Theodore, 669. 
Paul, the apostle, and Theodore were both natives and scholars 
of Tarsus, the rival of Athens in learning and refinement. In 
Britain, Theodore proved himself worthy of his birthplace. On 
his arrival in Canterbury he turned St. Augustine's Abbey into a 
school of learning, and appointed the erudite Benedict Biscop 
abbot. After two years Biscop resigned, and Hadrian took his 
place. As the cotemporary Bede is so reliable, we cite what he 
says of Theodore : 

" Theodore, born at Tarsus in Cilicia, was versed in both secular and divine 
literature, instructed in both Greek and Latin, approved in morals, and vener- 
able through age. Abbot Hadrian proposed him to Pope Vitalian to be or- 
dained Archbishop of Canterbury. Only to these conditions the Pontiff 
added that Hadrian should accompany him to Britain (Lib. IV., C. 2). 
Hadrian aided and co-operated with Theodore on all occasions. Theodore 
traveled through the whole island, wheresoever the nations of the Angles 
dwelt, for he was most gladly received and heard by all. He was the first 
Archbishop to whom all the church of the Angles consented to submit. As 
both Theodore and Hadrian were amply instructed in both sacred and secular 
literature, a crowd of disciples being congregated, rivers of salutary science 
daily flowed for the irrigation of their hearts; there was also delivered to the 



Seventh Century. 85 

hearers rules of ecclesiastic metrical art, astronomy, arithmetic, and volumes 
of sacred literature. Even to this day some of their scholars are living, who 
understand the Greek and Latin as well as they do their native tongue. 

"Never, from the days when the Angles directed their course to Britain, 
were happier times; whilst, having most brave and Christian kings, they were 
a terror to all barbarous nations." 

Thus Theodore and Hadrian electrified the Anglo-Saxons by- 
initiating them in Greek and Latin literature ; so much so that 
even convents were turned into seminaries, where the nuns 
studied the classics and became proficient in ancient lore. From 
what Bede says it is evident that the Anglo-Saxons, unsophisti- 
cated as they were, realized the Greek character in Theodore, 
who opened to them the fountains of Greek thought and learning. 
Hence Greek among the Anglo-Saxons dates to the seventh cen- 
tury. 

Warton says : " Theodore was a scholar in metrical art, as- 
tronomy, arithmetic, church music, and in the Greek and Latin 
languages. He brought many Greek and Latin books, among 
which were Homer, Homilies of St. Chrysostom, the Psalter, 
and Josephus' Hypomnesticon, all in Greek." " Hist, of Eng. 
Poetry," Vol. I., Dissert. II., p. 132. Bede informs us that 
while Theodore lectured on medicine at Canterbury, he objected 
to bleeding on the fourth day of the moon, because at that 
period the light of the planet and the tides of the ocean were on 
the increase. Here we perceive that astronomy and astrology 
had imbued the Greek mind. 

We read in Dugdale's " Monasticon" I., 89: "In the year 
652 it was the common practice of the Anglo-Saxons to send 
their youth to the monasteries of France for education." 

Benedict Biscop, so variously and briefly alluded to by most 
modern biographers, was ^one of the foremost scholars and teach- 
ers of the seventh century. From Bede, who was his ward, in- 
mate and pupil, we cull the following : " A man of venerable 
life, a soul addicted to no false pleasures, he was descended from 
a noble lineage of Northumbria, was one of King Oswy's gen- 
erals, and by the king's gift enjoyed an estate suitable to his 
rank \ but at the age of twenty-five he renounced military glory, 
left his home and country and visited Rome, where he devoted 
his time to study. On his return, Alfrid, son of King Oswy, 



86 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

asked Biscop to accompany him to Rome. The king diverted 
Alfrid from the journey, and Biscop went to Rome alone to con- 
tinue his studies. After some months he repaired to the famous 
monastery of Lerins, France, where for two years he passed 
through all the novitiate studies and exercises, joined the Bene- 
dictine order, and returned to Rome, where Pope Vitalian was 
about to consecrate Theodore as Archbishop of Canterbury. 
The Pontiff, seeing in Biscop a man of wisdom, industry, and a 
nobleman, wished to intrust to him Theodore and his compan- 
ions ; he advised him to renounce traveling, and with a higher 
good in view, return to his country, take with him the teacher 
of truth they so earnestly desired, and be to him an interpreter 
and guide on the journey, and afterwards when he begins to 
preach. Biscop did as the Pope commanded. They reached 
Canterbury and were kindly received. Theodore assumed his 
episcopal labors, and Biscop directed St. Augustine's monastery 
for two years, when he resigned it to Hadrian, went to Rome a 
third time, and brought back many books, which he had bought 
at a price, or received as gifts from friends. On his way back 
he stopped at Vienne (France) to take more books that had been 
collected for him there. 

" He came to the court of Egfrid, King of Northumbria, and 
gave a full account of all he had done since, in youth, he had 
left his country. He professed openly his zeal for religion, dis- 
played the learning he had acquired at Rome and elsewhere, 
showed the books and rarities he had brought with him, and found 
great favor with the king, who gave him seventy hides* of land 
and ordered a monastery to be erected thereon. This was done 
at the mouth of the river Were, 674. The next year Biscop 
went to France and engaged masons to construct a church in the 
Roman style, which he had always admired. He built with such 
alacrity, that within one year from laying the corner-stone, mass 
was celebrated therein. He sent to France for artificers in glass, 
then unknown in England, that they might glaze the windows of 
his church, cloisters, and dining-rooms. They came, and not 
only performed the work required, but taught the Anglo-Saxons 
their handicraft. 

* One hide is 120 acres; seventy hides = 8,400 acres. 



Seventh Century. 87 

"Biscop made a fourth journey to Rome, whence he returned 
with a large quantity of books of all kinds, and sacred pictures 
to adorn his church, so that all who entered, though they could 
not read, might have before their eyes the benevolent counte- 
nance of Christ and of his saints. King Egfrid was so delighted 
with Biscop's achievement that he made a further grant of forty 
hides of land, on the opposite bank of the Were, on which, with 
the king's assistance, Biscop erected another abbey named Jarrow. 
Afterwards Biscop made a fifth journey to Rome and returned, as 
before, with books and pictures ; also two cloaks, all of silk and 
of superior workmanship, for which King Alfrid (successor to 
Egfrid) gave him three hides of land. It was at this time that 
King Alfrid gave an estate of 900 acres for a book on Geography. 
Among the manuscripts Biscop brought from Rome, was a copy 
of Justinian's "Pandects" from which the monks ofWeremouth 
made three copies, one of which Biscop carried to his Roman 
friends, who had so nobly supplied him with rare MSS. Cer- 
tainly those monks could not have been better employed than in 
copying such ancient intellectual treasures. In his " Vita Abba- 
turn 1 ' (Life of the Abbots), Bede tells us that Benedict Biscop 
died January 14, 690. 

There is in the "Vita Abbatum" of Bede an episode that 
deserves mention here : " Ceolfrid, a man of noble birth, cousin 
of the Abbot Benedict, was an attendant on King Egfrid ; having 
renounced his temporal vocation and arms, and entered the 
monastery, he took pleasure in undergoing the usual course of 
monastic discipline, which, besides religious exercises, consisted 
in t/ires/iiug, win?wwi?ig, milki7ig, work in the bakehouse, garden, 
and all other labors of the monastery. When he attained to the 
name and dignity of Abbot, he retained the same spirit. Often, 
when he went forth on the affairs of the monastery, if he found 
the brothers working, he would join them and work with them by 
taking the plough-handle, or wielding the smith's hammer, or any 
other thing of like nature. He was a youth of great strength and 
a pleasant tone of voice, of a kind and bountiful disposition, and 
fair to look on. He ate the same food as the other brothers, and 
in the same apartment ; and slept in the same common room as 
he did before he was Abbot. Even after he was taken ill and 
saw clear signs of his approaching death, he still remained for 



88 Anglo-Saxon "Period, A. D. 449-1200. 

two days in the common dormitory. He passed five days imme- 
diately before his death in a private apartment, from which he 
came out one day, and sitting in the open air, sent for all the 
brothers, and, as his kind feelings prompted him, gave to each 
the kiss of peace, whilst they all shed tears of sorrow for the loss 
of this their father and their guide." 

I hope my readers will pardon these episodes ; they may seem 
a digression from " English Language and Literature, their Origin, 
Progress and Destiny," yet Biscop and Ceolfrid, in collecting 
and multiplying books for obscure Northumbria, having them 
translated and copied, and making presents of them at Rome and 
elsewhere, did cause Greek and Latin thought and expression to 
find their way into superior Medieval minds, and thence into 
Medieval dialects as Gothic, Italian, French, Spanish, Anglo- 
Saxon, and German. Thus Weremouth and Jarrow became early 
intellectual centers, not only for language, law, morals, art, and 
literature, but for clearing forests, draining marshes, and turning 
them into fertile fields, fruitful orchards, and flowering gardens. 
No wonder Northumbrian kings showered hides of land upon 
these primitive Benedictine pioneers, whose rule and vow were, 
besides religious duties, manual labor, instruction of youth , and 
transcription of valuable ma?iuscrifits. Could there have been a 
higher aim in life and better adapted to their epoch ? In this 
and many other respects these digressions belong to my subject; 
for language and literature only progress with the increase of 
material wealth through agriculture, mechanics, manufactures, and 
commerce. Biscop and his cousin Ceolfrid, who have been so 
little noticed by modern biographers, have great claims on Eng- 
land for having brought into Britain, not only books, works of 
art, architecture and artificers, but agriculture. Let us translate 
from Ersch and Gruber's Universal Encyclopedia : "From the 
Mayne to the Danube and over the Hartz Mountains the Bene- 
dictines of the seventh' century cleared forests, cultivated fields 
and gardens, planted southern fruits, introduced mechanics and 
arts, founded schools, nurtured science, exhibited examples of 
self-sacrifice, gentleness and purity of manners to the inhabitants, 
which were much more useful than their religious instruction." 

From Pierer's Universal Lexicon : " They spread all over 
Western Europe, founded the celebrated schools of Pavia, Turin, 



Seventh Century. 89 

Cremona, Florence, Verona, Paris, Tours, Rheims, Metz, Co- 
logne, Mentz, Fulda, Magdeburg, St. Gall, &c, and were of great 
service in the promotion of agriculture and gentle manners. The 
aged and infirm copied manuscripts. The first rule of this 
order was that every monk should earn his living by some manual 
labor." 

According to Fessler's statistics the Benedictine monks, during 
an existence of thirteen centuries, count 15,700 authors, 4,000 
bishops, 1,600 archbishops, 200 cardinals, 24 popes, and 1,560 
canonized saints. Let us remember that Gregory I. and Augus- 
tine, England's apostle, were Benedictines. Alas ! opulence 
effeminated and ruined them, as it did the Assyrians, Persians, 
Greeks, and Romans. Thus, we mentioned the founder and 
inmates of Jarrow, where farmers could see superior agriculture 
and gardening, where painters could find models for their art and 
architects patterns for sacred and profane structures. When we 
consider that all this was due to the efforts of the one man, Bis- 
cop, who turned the wilderness into rich fields, flowering gardens, 
monuments, and homes of comfort, intellectuality and wealth, 
we must regret that the features of this benefactor to his country 
and mankind were not transmitted to posterity. 

At the close of this century lived the learned and accomplished 
Aldhelm, Bishop of Sherborn, who, according to Camden, was 
the first of the Anglo-Saxons that wrote in Latin. He was an 
eloquent orator, Latin poet, an expert chanter and harper, a 
Doctor Egregius, and thoroughly versed in the Scriptures and lib- 
eral sciences. Besides theologic writings, he left a book on 
Enigmas and treatises on Arithmetic, Astrology, Rhetoric, and 
Metre. Thus King David's favorite instrument found its way 
to the western confines of the world as early as the seventh cen- 
tury ; a man with Bishop Aldhelm's accomplishments and learn- 
ing would shine anywhere in this nineteenth century ! 

While giving Extracts and Tables on the Anglo-Saxon dialect, 
and expatiating on intellectual pursuits and Benedictine monas- 
teries, we overlook the wants of the body, the fields, the country 
and husbandman ; hence let us glance at their status and prog- 
ress : The monastery of Ely had an orchard that became the ad- 
miration of England, A.D. 674. Brithnoth, its first abbot, plan- 
ned and cultivated it. Wilfred, Bishop of York, when driven 



90 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

from his see by Everth, King of Northumbria, went among the 
Pagans of Sussex, who were starving for want of food amid 
waters teeming with fish. The practical prelate, who had visited 
Rome in his young days, taught them the use of nets and aston- 
ished them by the capture of three hundred at one haul. By 
thus teaching these innocent people how to provide food, he soon 
won them to Christ and civilization. Wilfrid but imitated the 
Master, who astonished his disciples in a similar way seven cen- 
turies before. He also gained fame for his architectural taste in 
founding and adorning the cathedral of York. In those days 
the Anglo-Saxons built their houses of clay, held together by 
wooden framework, bricks being scarce and only used as orna- 
ments. The healing art was at a low standard and only prac- 
tised by women, who employed charms and spells with their 
herbs and decoctions. As Christianity advanced the priests pre- 
tended to study medicine, but trusted mainly to holy water and 
other superstitions. Such was the status of some of the domestic 
comforts, arts and sciences in the seventh century. 

Extracts and Tables from three Anglo-Saxon writings of the 
seventh century, showing their style and the numeric origin of 
their vocabulary. They are from Caedmon's poems, A.D. 680; 
Lothair and Edric's Anglo-Saxon Code of Laws, A.D. 685 ; 
Saxon Chronicle, A.D. 694: 



Seventh Century. 91 



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ioo Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

Synopsis* of the different words from the three preceding Tables 
of the Seventh Century. 

Greek : 2 ) 1 

Latin . I4 \ Greco-Latin : 16 I Total of the different 



Anglo-Saxon : 217 >■ Gotho-Germanic 1217 



words : 233 



Hence, the style of Anglo-Saxon literature in the 
seventh century shows a vocabulary of different 
words, containing about 

94 per cent. Gotho-Germanic or Anglo-Saxon, and 
6 " Greco- Latin. 

116 of the 233 different Anglo-Saxon words, or 
fifty per cent., are now (1878) obsolete. What then 
becomes of Sharon Turner's statement, in his " His- 
tory of the Anglo-Saxons," that only five per cent, 
of the Anglo-Saxon dialect are obsolete? 

Only 22 of the 233 different Anglo-Saxon words, 
or nine per cent., are now (1878) spelt as they 
were in the seventh century. 

By the three foregoing Extracts from Caedmon, Lothair and 
Edric's Code, Saxon Chronicle, and by Ethelbert's Code, A.D. 
597, we realize that the Anglo-Saxons had writing and the 
germs of a national literature towards the close of the seventh 
century ; when France, Italy, Germany, and Spain had not a 
written line in their native tongues. Furthermore, our Extract 
from the Saxon Chronicle furnishes a fervent speech from King 
Wihtred at the Council of Bapchild, A.D. 694. Perhaps some 
Anglo-Saxon stenographer reported that royal discourse, which 
laid the foundation for "Peter-Pence" and u Lammas Day" 
about the same time this royal zealot issued an Anglo-Saxon 



* As the Synopses and Ultimate Results constitute the essence of this work, 
showing the origin and progress of the English language, we endeavor to 
make them conspicuous by having them printed in large type. 



Seventh Century. 101 

Code of laws, in which the church was not forgotten. Such royal 
religious fervor must have delighted the Roman hierarchy. 

There was, at that period, in the Anglo-Saxon character a 
feature, which I cannot pass unnoticed, although it does not 
belong to my subject. As it seems to have been overlooked by 
chroniclers and historians, I shall try to add it as a pendant to 
Pope Gregory's mission. Hardly had the Anglo-Saxons enjoyed 
the initial blessings of Christianity, when they realized that their 
kinsmen, across the sea, were yet in darkness as to man's intel- 
lectual and moral capacities. They felt the sublimity of Greg- 
ory's zeal to convert their fathers, and strove to imitate it, with 
this difference : Augustine and his companions were unwilling 
tools in the hands of Pope Gregory, whereas twelve unpretend- 
ing Anglo-Saxons spontaneously conceived and executed a mis- 
sion among their benighted brothers in Germany. This Anglo- 
Saxon elan is only surpassed by that of the twelve destitute 
disciples, who, seven centuries before, started from Jerusalem to 
win the world to their Crucified Master. You, no doubt, desire 
to hear the names of those intellectual and moral Anglo-Saxon 
heroes. Alas ! I have as yet only been able to trace three of 
them. The Venerable Bede (Lib. V., C. 10) preserved two, Wil- 
brord and Suidbert ; the former was born in Northumbria and 
educated at Ripon, whence he repaired to Ireland and preached 
for twelve years. A third, Adalbert (Ethelbert) is mentioned in 
Pertz' " Monumentorum Germanise Historia," Vol. 2., p. 220. 
Thus has history failed to record the names of nine of those no- 
ble pioneers, while it has paraded that of many less worthy men. 

The twelve started from Britain about 690 and went to Metz, 
where they were graciously received by Pepin, Duke of Austrasia, 
and by his hospitable spouse Plectrude. Pepin was father to 
Charles Martel, who saved Europe from the Turkish yoke, A.D. 
732. Charles Martel was the grandfather of Charlemagne, who 
united Western Europe and restored her to civilization. 

Pepin, at the head of the impetuous Franks, had just con- 
quered Citerior Friesland, whence he had driven King Rathbed. 
The arrival of the Anglo-Saxon missionaries was a "Godsend" 
to him. He at once invited them to preach, under his protec- 
tion, to his new subjects. The zeal and example of these pious 
strangers soon attracted the Frisians to Christianity. Hear what 



102 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

Bede tells posterity about his countrymen : "The brothers who 
were attending to the ministry of the word in Friesland chose of 
their number Suidbert, a man moderate in his habits and meek 
in heart, to be consecrated their Prelate, who, being sent to 
Britain, was ordained Bishop by Wilfrid. Having returned from 
Britain, Suidbert went among the Bructeri and converted many 
of them by his preaching ; but soon the Bructeri were conquered 
by the old Saxons, and Suidbert had to flee. He went with his 
companions to Pepin, who, at Plectrude's intercession, gave them 
a home on an island in the Rhine, called Werde (now Kaiser- 
werth), where Suidbert founded a monastery, died, and was buried. 
Of Wilbrord, his cotemporary, Bede speaks thus : 

" Among the twelve, Wilbrord shone pre-eminent for his rank as Presbyter 
and for his merit, &c, Lib. V., C. n. After they had taught in Friesland 
for some years, Pepin sent, with the approbation of all, that most reverend 
man Wilbrord to Rome, where Sergius held the Pontificate, with the demand 
that he should be consecrated Archbishop of Friesland. This was done as he 
had requested, 696. He was ordained as Clement. Pepin gave him a place 
for his episcopal see, in his famous fortified town, Utrecht. When the church 
of St. Saviour had been built there, the prelate preached the word of faith 
far and wide, and appointed other bishops in those regions out of the number 
of those brethren, who, either with him or after him, had come thither to 
preach ; of whom some are now fallen asleep in the Lord. Wilbrord, how- 
ever, surnamed Clement, is still living, being now venerable by reason of his 
extreme old age, to wit, being in the thirty-sixth year of his episcopate, and 
after manifold conflicts of Heavenly warfare, sighing with his whole mind for 
the rewards of a heavenly recompense." 

Bede mentions two other Anglo-Saxon missionaries, named 
Hewald, probably brothers. They started from Britain about 
this time, ancLwent to preach to the old Saxons, who murdered 
them and threw their bodies into the Rhine, whence they were 
taken and honorably buried by order of Pepin. Another Anglo- 
Saxon, called Willehad, after winning many to Christ, became 
Bishop of Bremen, where he died 789. 

Thus did the Anglo-Saxons, within about two hundred years, 
nobly repay their debt to Rome. Gregory had sent them 
Christianity ; they in turn sent the great blessing to their be- 
nighted German kinsmen, sealing the gift with their blood. Was 
not this a worthy pendant to Pope Gregory's tableau of 597? 
Wilbrord, Suidbert, Hewald, Willehad, &c, were by no means 



Seventh Century. 103 

inferior to their illustrious predecessors, Gregory, Augustine, 
Paulinus, &c. As to Pepin and his worthy Plectrude, they 
fully equalled Ethelbert and Bertha in hospitality and grace. 
Metz became to Germany what Canterbury had been to Engla- 
land. 

As Mohammed's religion astonished the world, A.D. 622, and 
as even now emperors, kings and diplomats are embarrassed to 
dispose of it, A.D. 1878, we must allude to it here. The Ara- 
bian Reformer claimed that his teachings were divine inspirations, 
which Abdalla-Ibn-Sad, an early admirer of Mohammed, wrote 
down as he uttered them. He mixed them with Sabianism, 
cherished among the shepherd kings, Magi and Arabians, and 
tinged the whole with Judaism and primitive Christianity ; then, 
to attract adventurers and warlike races, he engrafted on them 
the law of the sword ; and to justify his passion for women, he 
added polygamy. Such a combination was calculated to rouse 
enthusiasm and inflame the eastern imagination; for Kaab, a 
cotemporary poet, after penning bitter satires against Mohammed, 
became a convert, and wrote one of the seven eulogies, styled 
" Moallakah" or poems suspended in the temple of Mecca; so 
did the cotemporary Arabian bards, Amry, Lebyd, and Joheir. 
Amry's Moallakah was translated into English by Sir William 
Jones, and Lebyd' s into French by Sylvestre de Sacy. This 
clearly shows that the Arabian intellect was with the reformer 
and accounts for the rapid expansion. As Carlyle and Washing- 
ton Irving have written glowing accounts of Mohammed and his 
doctrines, we refer readers to them. 

We must not omit here a scholar who did more for linguistic 
lore than all his ancient and Medieval predecessors : that scholar 
was Isidore of Seville, author of " Originum sive Etymologiarum 
Libri XX (Twenty Books of Origins or Etymologies), which is 
an epitome of all the sciences in his day. The learned Dr. 
Hoefer calls this work " one of the most precious monuments 
for the history of human knowledge." He also wrote " Imago 
Mundi" which is a chronicle from the creation to A.D. 626 ; 
and two abridged histories of the Gotho-Germanic tribes that 
settled in Spain during the fifth century, entitled " Chronicon 
Gothorum" (Chronicle of the Goths), and "Chronicon breve 
Regain Visigothorum" (Short Chronicle of the Visigoth Kings). 



104 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

This eminent Medieval linguist, historian and scientist was born 
at Carthagena, of a noble family, about A.D. 570, and died Arch- 
bishop of Seville, A.D. 636, where he had been the father of the 
poor, the comforter of the unfortunate, and the oracle of Spain 
for forty years. He was thoroughly versed in Hebrew, Greek, 
and Latin, as well as in all the learning of his epoch. His numer- 
ous Essays on Ecclesiastic affairs have been highly valued by 
divines. In one of them he says : " According to the precept of 
St. Paul and the Patriarchs, a monk should labor always." Then 
he adds : " Those who incline to read without working, show 
that their reading is of little profit to them." The Roman hierar- 
chy styled Isidore "the most learned man of his age." Soon 
Isidore's works found their way to France, where, about A.D. 
799 or 800, some Frank translated part of it into Francic, a MS. of 
which is now extant in Paris. Spain may ever point with pride 
to this early intellectual giant. 



EIGHTH CENTURY. 



" It is a shame for any Englishman to look coldly upon his mother tongue." — Ouphant's 
" Standard Ejiglish," p. 369. 



In the year 672 appeared one of those intellects that are not 
numerous on Earth — The Venerable Bede, whose moral and 
intellectual sun began to shine fully about 730. Astronomy, 
mathematics, grammar, and music were embraced in its rays. 
But his great work was his " Ecclesiastic Hist.ory." It* had 
a royal translator in Alfred the Great, who, desiring that his sub- 
jects should have the benefit thereof, translated it into Anglo- 
Saxon. 

Hear what the learned Andrews says of this early Medieval 
genius : "This pious and humble sage, who never sought to rise 
above the station of a private monk at Jarrow on the Tyne, has 
bequeathed to us eight folio volumes, comprising the richest 
stores of multifarious learning. Bede was born, 672, in Northum- 
berland. He died in 735, and was long remembered as "The 
Wise Saxon." 

Now hear what Bede says of himself and his writings : 

" I, Bede, born in this country, was at the age of seven years entrusted to 
the care of the Abbot Benedict, and afterwards to Ceolfrid. I ever considered 
investigating, teaching and writing the sweetest occupation. From the 
nineteenth to the fifty-ninth year of my life I took pleasure in commenting on 
the Holy Scriptures and on the works of the venerable Fathers, for my own 
instruction and for that of others, and also in expanding their meaning and 
interpretation." 

I cannot help quoting the opening of Bede's letter to the King 
of Northumbria : 



io6 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

"To The most Glorious King Ceolwulph, Bede, the servant of Christ, and 
Presbyter. 
" I sent with much pleasure before this, O King, at your desire, the Ec- 
clesiastic History of the Nation of the Angles, which I had lately published, 
for you to read and judge of; and now I send it again to be transcribed and 
more fully studied, as you shall find time ; and I delight greatly in the zeal 
of your sincerity, through which you take diligent pains to become acquainted 
with the actions and words of illustrious men of former times, and especially 
of our nation," &c. 

There is great dignity and freedom of expression in this letter, 
from which we may realize that the modest monk of Jarrow knew 
his own worth as compared with that of a king. 

More than eleven centuries have elapsed since the departure 
of this industrious scholar. As his last hours on Earth are so 
edifying, it would be a pity to lose their instruction. They are 
thus described by his disciple Cuthbert, in a letter, from which 
we cull : 

" He translated the Gospel of St. John into our tongue for the benefit of 
the Church. The third day of the week he began to be greatly distressed in 
his breathing. During the whole of that day he taught and cheerfully dic- 
tated, saying : Learn with speed ; I know not how long I may last. At the 
fourth hour he diligently charged us to write what we had begun. Most be- 
loved master, there is yet one chapter wanting ; it seems to be troubling you 
to ask you more. Then said he : It is no trouble. Take your pen, mend it 
and write quickly, &c. One sentence is still unwritten. Then he said : 
Write it quickly. The sentence is now written. He said: It is well ; you 
have spoken the truth, consummatum est (it is consummated). He breathed 
his last, and so departed to the Heavenly Kingdom. 

" Know, however, dearest brother, that I could relate many things con- 
cerning him, but that my unskilfulness in language makes my discourse short." 

Thus, in moral and intellectual vigor, died this ever-searching 
scholar, as he had lived. Any man whose native tongue is Eng- 
lish can have no idea of budding thought in the British Isles, 
unless he reads the effusions of Gildas, King Ethelbert, Caed- 
mon, and Bede. We must own that they seem primitive, super- 
stitious, aye, even childish ; but could Rollin, Justinian, Pope, 
Macaulay have done better, had they been born and lived in the 
British Isles, any time from 500 to 800, and under the same cir- 
cumstances ? Nations, empires, and literatures have their child- 
hood, manhood, and old age ; the man who sneers at either is 
no scholar. 



Eighth Century. 107 

Manuscript Books in the Library of Archbishop Egbert, 
at York, England, from A.D. 732 to 766. 
We read in the "Saxon Chronicle" A.D. 734, that Archbishop 
Egbert was brother to Eadbert, King of Northumbria. He was 
a liberal patron of learning. Enriched by the royal family, he 
collected a valuable library of manuscript books, of which we 
shall give a list, drawn from a catalogue * in elegant Latin verse, 
written by the learned Alcuin, who was a pupil and favorite of 
Archbishop Egbert : 

CHRISTIAN FATHERS : 

Augustine, Lat., A.D. 430 

Orosius, Lat., 430 

Joannes, Lat., 433 

Leo (Pope), Lat., 461 

Prosper, Lat., 463 

Fulgentius, Lat., 533 
Gregory the Great, Latin and 

Greek, 605 



: Illic invenies veterum vestigia Patrum, 
Quidquid habet pro se Latio Romanus in orbe, 
Graecia quidquid transmisit clara Latinis ; 
Hebraicus vel quod populus bibit imbre superno, 
Africa lucifluo vel quidquid lumine spar sit. 
Quod pater Hieronymus, quod sensit Hilarius, atque 
Ambrosius praesul, simul Augustinus, et ipse 
Sanctus Athanasius, quod Orosius edit avitus, 
Quidquid Gregorius summus docet, et Leo Papa ; 
Basilius quidquid, Fulgentius atque coruscant, 
Cassiodorus item, Chrysostomus atque Joannes. 
Quidquid et Althelmus docuit, quid Beda Magister, 
Quae Victorinus scripsere, Boetius, atque 
Historici veteres, Pompeius, Plinius, ipse 
Acer Aristoteles, rhetor quoque Tullius ingens : 
Quid quoque Sedulius, vel quid canit ipse Juvencus, 
Alcuinus et Clemens, Prosper, Paulinus, Arator, 
Quidquid Fortunatus vel quid Lactantius, edunt. 
Quae Maro Virgilius, Statius, Lucanus, et auctor 
Artis grammaticae, vel quid scripsere magistri : 
Quid Probus atque Phocas, Donatus, Priscianusve, 
Servius, Euticius, Pompeius, Comminianus. 
Invenies alios perplures. " 



Clement, Greek, 


A.D. 220 


Lactantius, Lat., 


325 


Hilary, Lat., 


367 


Victorinus, Lat., 


37o 


Athanasius, Greek, 


373 


Basil, Greek, 


397 


Ambrose, Lat., 


397 


Chrysostom, Greek, 


407 


Jerome, Lat., 


420 



108 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

HISTORIANS : 

Pompeius (Trogus), Lat., A.D. 5 Cassiodorus, Lat., A.D. 590 

poets : 



Virgil, Lat., 


B.C. 19 


Paulinus, Lat., 




A.D. 


431 


Lucan, Lat., 


A.D. 65 


Sedulius, Lat., 






460 


Statius, Lat., 


100 


Arator, Lat., 






560 


Juvencus, La*., 


400 


Fortunatus, Lat., 






609 




PHILOSOPHERS : 








Boetius, Lat., 


A.D. 525 












GRAMMARIANS : 








Probus, Lat., 


A.D. 100 


Priscianus, Lat., 




A.D. 


525 


Pompeius (Festus), Lat., 


380 


Euticius (Eutychius), 


Lat. 


> 


55o 


Donatus, Lat., 


400 


Phocas (since lost). 








Servius, Lat., 


400 

ANGLO- 


Comminianus (since 
■SAXONS : 


lost). 






Aldhelm, Lat., 


A.D. 709 


Alcuin, Lat., 




A.D. 


804 


Bede, Lat., 


• 735 











Alcuin closes his Catalogue by saying : " You will find a great 
many others." 

Here were the writings of sixteen of the Fathers, two scientists, 
eight poets, two historians, one orator, one philosopher, eight 
grammarians, and three Anglo-Saxon writers in Latin, besides 
many others. Religion, science, poetry, history, philosophy and 
grammar were worthily represented in that early Anglo-Saxon 
effort. If we consider the time and circumstances, we must own 
that Egbert's library was a wonder : only one hundred and sixty- 
nine years had elapsed from the formation of the Anglo-Saxon 
alphabet, A.D. 597, to Egbert's library, A.D. 766. 

Ingulphus tells us writing materials were so scarce that large es- 
tates were often conveyed from one family to another by handing 
a turf and a stone before witnesses, without any written agree- 
ment. Bede says : Alfrid, King of Northumbria, gave a large 
landed estate to Abbot Benedict Biscop, for a book on geography, 
which the Abbot had brought from Rome. Henault relates that 
a Countess of Anjou gave two hundred sheep and many valuable 
'furs for a book of homilies.* Under such circumstances we 

* Gibbon adds: "Before the invention of printing and paper, the labor 
and materials of writing could be purchased only by the rich; and it may 



Eighth Century. 109 

must admire Archbishop Egbert's zeal to collect such intellectual 
and moral treasures. 

This wonderful progress must be attributed to the efforts of 
the Anglo-Saxons to render writing easier and more current : to 
save space they substituted small for capital letters ; to expedite 
copying they changed angles and zigzags to curved lines, and 
copied industriously, increasing the monastic libraries.- 

We may say Alcuin's Catalogue contains no mathematics. 
True, Euclid's science had not yet visited Britain ; it only 
deigned to favor the Northwestern Islanders, under King Athel- 
stan, about 935 ; nor had the Arab's concise expression of num- 
bers made its appearance ; but see what Anglo-Saxon ingenuity 
contrived to supply this want : The numbers from 1 to 100 were 
expressed by the fingers of the left hand; from 100 to 10,000 by 
those of the right; from 10,000 to 100,000 by varying the po- 
sition of the left; and from 100,000 to 1,000,000 by varying the 
position of the right hand.- — Bede, u De Indigitatione" This not 
only foreshadowed mental arithmetic and mnemonics, but De 
l'Epee's "Deaf and Dumb" speech. The sages of the eighth 
century divided human knowledge into " The Seven Liberal 
Sciences:'" Grammar, Logic, Rhetoric, Music, Arithmetic , 
Geometry, and Astronomy. The three former were called 
Trivinm ; the four latter Quadrivium. Hence this uncouth, 
but simple, distich contemplates ten centuries . 

" Gramm. loquitur; Dia. vera docet ; Rhet. verba colorat; 
Mus. canit ; Ar. numerat ; Geo. ponderat ; Ast. colit astra." 

Thus imitated : 

" Gramm. rules the speech ; Log. truth doth teach; 
Rhet. words with wit supplies ; 
Mus. chants her lays ; Ar. counts; Geo. weighs; 
Ast. ponders on the skies." 

To this period belongs a movement of the priesthood to obtain 
tithes, as allowed by the Mosaic law to the Levites. This eccle- 
siastic claim was first urged at the Council of Calcuith (Cliftonian 
Kent), about A.D. 785. No longer satisfied with land-grants, as 

reasonably be computed that the price of books was a hundred-fold their 
present value." 



no Anglo-Saxon Period \ A.D. 449-1200. 

were the noble Benedict Biscop and his industrious associates, 
who, at Wearmouth, turned dismal forests and swamps into fruit- 
ful gardens and fertile fields, the hierarchy asked one-tenth of all 
the people's labor and earnings. Here was the germ of priestly 
intrigue and papal arrogance in England. As the discussions, 
comments and writings, that grew out of this movement, greatly 
favored and diffused the English language and literature, let us 
watch the development of this germ as we proceed in our investi- 
gation of the English idiom. 

In a historic point of view, Charlemagne and Alcuin have ever 
been closely connected in men's minds ; for in them French 
statesmanship and Anglo-Saxon scholarship went hand in hand 
to diffuse Medieval civilization. In the seventh century France 
was in a deplorable plight as to education. The fame of 
classic learning, introduced by Archbishops Egbert and Theo- 
dore, Abbot Biscop and Alcuin, had reached the great Western 
Monarch. We read that Alcuin was sent as ambassador to 
Charlemagne by King Offa, to negotiate an alliance between 
France and the Anglo-Saxon king of Mercia, and that letters are 
extant from Alcuin to Charlemagne, begging him to send French 
and German youths to be educated in Britain ; but, instead of 
sending young men to Britain, the Emperor invited the Anglo- 
Saxon sage to come to his court, and establish schools in his 
vast dominions. The renowned Yorkshire scholar accepted the 
invitation about 780, and founded schools, not only at Aix-la- 
Chapelle, Paris, and Tours, but in the imperial palace, where 
Charlemagne and his courtiers assembled to hear him. Probably 
among his hearers was Egbert, first king of England, who about 
that time was at the court of Charlemagne. Alcuin was the 
emperor's favorite. He was a prominent prelate at the Coun- 
cil of Frankfort, 794 ; in 796 he was appointed Abbot of St. 
Martin's monastery at Tours, where he died, A.D. 804. Alcuin 
was theologian, philosopher, historian, poet, mathematician, ora- 
tor, and linguist. His works were published, A.D. 1777, in two 
folio volumes. They consist of letters, poems, and theologic 
writings, that are considered the purest Latin of the Middle 
Ages. He it was, who, in his youth, wrote a catalogue of Arch- 
bishop Egbert's library in poetry, which we cite elsewhere. 
Professor F. Lorentz, of Halle, wrote Alcuin's biography, which 



Eighth Century. Ill 

was translated into English, 1837. Alcuin immortalized Anglo- 
Saxon scholarship abroad. 

About A.D. 787, Danes or Normans landed at Portland, 
plundered the country, and went away unmolested. The Anglo- 
Saxons little dreamt how these roving sea-kings would soon 
harass England. In Bertholin's History of Northern Antiquities 
is this Danish code of honor : "A brave man should attack two, 
stand firm against three, give ground a little to four, and only 
retreat from five." The same ideas prevailed among all the Gotho- 
Germanic races : Saxons, Franks, Normans, &c. No wonder, 
men, acting with such motives, were irresistible • yet a deeper 
incitement, the idea of immortality in Valhalla, inherited from 
their ancestors, the Getae, underlay their actions ; thus even a 
noble thought may prompt to cruel deeds. 

From the formation of the Anglo-Saxon alphabet, 597 to 788, 
there were but few Anglo-Saxon writings : Ethelbert's Code, 
Caedmon's primitive poems, Ina's Code, and the Saxon Chronicle ; 
most other writings were in Latin. We are told that annals 
were written in Anglo-Saxon at Canterbury, Winchester, Peter- 
borough, Worcester, Abington, &c. — that these annals were 
drafted into short chronicles, collected, and, under the supervi- 
sion of Plegmund, Archbishop of Canterbury, united into what has 
been called the " Saxon Chronicle." Abbots, bishops, arch- 
bishops, and, it is thought, even King Alfred, wrote parts of it. 
The erudite Ingram, Anglo-Saxon Professor at Oxford, edited 
and translated those relics and issued them under the name 
" Saxon Chronicle," 1823. This record does credit to the Anglo- 
Saxons ■ for such a continuous, simple, practical vernacular 
chronicle could probably not be found in any other nation. It 
is a " Multum in parvo " of history, chronology, geography, sci- 
ence, and art, and an ancient descriptive national album. If 
you need some Anglo-Saxon personage, event, place or occur- 
rence from 449 to 1 154, consult its index and you will find some 
mention thereof with correct date. Were it not for this ancient 
work and Ina's Code of Laws, I could not find Axglo-Saxon Ex- 
tracts for Tables in this century ; yet Aldhelm, Bede, and Alcuin 
wrote volumes in Latin. The Saxon Chronicle begins with a 
short account of the Isle of Britain, its extent and inhabitants, 
and of Caesar's invasion, 60 B.C. ; whereas our chronology has 55 



112 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

B.C. Then it commences A.D. 1, and continues till A.D. 1154. 
In this venerable Record, births, deaths, murders, battles, coun- 
cils, advents of kings, bishops, abbots, eclipses of the sun and 
moon, comets, are all mentioned pele-mele, as may be seen by 
our Extracts therefrom ; yet even this simplest of records rises at 
times to a pathos like this : " Sharp death, that passes neither by 
rich men nor poor, seized him also. Alas, how false and how 
uncertain is this world's weal ! He, that was before a rich king 
and lord of many lands, had not then of all his land more than a 
space of seven feet ; and he, that was whilom enshrouded in gold 
and gems, lay there covered with mould." — This of William the 
Conqueror's death, A.D. 1087. This collection of Anglo-Saxon 
Chronicles was originally called " Liber de Wintonia" (The Win- 
chester Book) from its first place of custody. Ingram, the learned 
compiler of this precious Medieval record, says: "The Saxon 
Chronicle contains the original and authentic testimony of cotem- 
porary writers to the most important transactions of our fore- 
fathers, both by sea and land, from their first aj'rival in this 
country to the year 1154," which he could not mean, because the 
Anglo-Saxons " from their first arrival in" Britain, A.D. 449 to 
597, had neither alphabet, writing, nor writers. Yet he is correct 
when he adds : " If we except the sacred annals of the Jews, 
contained in the several books of the Old Testament, there is no 
other work extant, ancient or modern, which exhibits at one 
view a regular and chronologic panorama of a people, described 
in rapid succession by different writers, through so many ages, 
in their own vernacular language" 

The British Museum boasts of an Anglo-Saxon manuscript in 
forty- three cantos, numbering about 6,000 lines, which has elicited 
much speculation as to by whom, when, and where it was origi- 
nally written. Some ascribed it to priests of the seventh and 
eighth, others to monks of the ninth, tenth, and eleventh cen- 
turies. But as no cotemporary historian alludes to it, not even 
Bede, who (A.D. 730) mentions Ethelbert's Code, Gildas and 
Caedmon, this position would almost seem untenable, unless the 
poem has intrinsic evidence of the vocabulary and style of any 
of those periods. There are two copies of this curious poem : 
one without any, the other with some, Christian allusions. 
This seems to perplex critics, who claim that the one without 



Eighth Century. 113 

Christian allusions antedates, whereas the other with Christian 
allusions afterdates — Ethelbert's conversion, A.D. 597. Some 
say this ancient relic was originally written in Scandinavia and 
carried by the Norsemen to Britain, where it was translated into 
Anglo-Saxon. Its hero is Beowulf, one of the many Gotho- 
Germanic Hercules or Don Quixotes, claiming descent from 
Odin or Woden. The fens and marshes of Jutland are the 
theatre of Beowulf's extraordinary feats : he exterminates the 
terrible giant Grendel, a scion of Cain, and the monstrous Fire- 
drake, that had so long infested the land of the Jutes (Guttones, 
Gothi, Getae, Guthi). 

According to Sharon Turner, " Beowulf is certainly the oldest 
poem, of an epic form, which exists in Europe." Yet he thinks 
Ethelbert's Code antedates it. Conybeare, Professor of Anglo- 
Saxon at Oxford University, 1812, refers a part of Beowulf in its 
original composition to A.D. 450, thus making it cotemporary 
with Hengist and Horsa. He made a literal Latin and a free 
English translation of it. Warton, in his " History of English 
Poetry" considers Beowulf "a Dano-Saxon poem celebrating the 
wars, which Beowulf, a noble Dane, descended from the royal 
stem of Scyldinge, waged against the kings of Swedeland. 

The learned linguist Ettmiiller, in his translation of this Gotho- 
Germanic essay, thinks it belongs to the first half of the eighth 
century. Thorpe, the English translator, assigns it to the middle 
of the eleventh century, but regards the original as written in 
Sweden and brought to England by the Danes. Longfellow calls 
it "the oldest epic in any modern language. Its style is simple, 
perhaps one should say austere; at times it is tedious, at times 
obscure, and he who undertakes to read the original will find it 
no easy task." The erudite Anglo-Saxon scholar, Kemble, who 
translated. Beowulf into English, thinks its perusal will repay any 
one that will read it in a proper spirit, and make allowances for 
the time and circumstances in which it was composed. Oliphant, 
in his "Standard English," 1873, observes: " Beowulf is to us 
English, what the Iliad was to the Greeks. There is an unmis- 
takable Pagan ring about the poem." According to my humble 
opinion, Beowulf's style, vocabulary, and scarcity of particles 
point more to Caedmon's time than any other, whatever may 
have been its original composition in Scandinavia or elsewhere, 



U4 



Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 



either A.D. 450, 650, or 1050. Its expressions u Lif-frea" 
(Lord of Life), "Wuldres Waldend" (Prince of Glory), &c, and 
its few particles, sound and look like the style and dialect of 
Caedmon's day (A.D. 650-680). However, as there is so much 
uncertainty about the date of this Medieval epic, we give no 
Table therefrom. It seems to be pure Anglo-Saxon ; for we ex- 
amined forty-two lines of its Anglo-Saxon text, consisting of one 
hundred different words, among which we found not a single 
Greco -Latin term. To give our readers some idea of this ven- 
erable poem, we cite short specimens from Longfellow's excellent 
version : 



BEOWULF 
Then dwelt in the cities 
Beowulf the Shyld, 
A king, dear to the people : 
Long did he live 
His country's father. 
To him was born 
Healfden the high ; 
He, while he lived, 
Reigned and grew old, 



THE SHYLD. 

The delight of the Sliylds, 

To him four children 

Grew up in the world, 

Leaders of hosts ; 

Weorgar and Rothgar, 

And Halga the good. 

And I have heard 

That Helen, his queen, 

Was born by the Shefings," &c. 



THE SAILING 

Famous was Beowulf ; 
Wide sprang the blood, 
Which the heir of the Shylds 
Shed on the lands. 
So shall the bracelets 
Purchase endeavor, 
Freely presented, 
As by thy fathers ; 
And all the young men, 
As. is their custom, 



OF BEOWULF. 

Cling round their leader, 

Soon as the war comes. 

Lastly thy people 

The deeds shall bepraise, 

Which their men have performed. 

When the Shyld had awaited 

The time he should stay, 

Came many to fare 

On the billows so free," &c. 



BEOWULF'S EXPEDITION TO HEORT. 



Then went over the sea- waves, 
Hurried by the wind, 
The ship with foamy neck, 
Most like a sea-fowl; 
Till about one hour 
Of the second day 
The curved prow 
Had passed onward, 



So that the sailors 

The land saw, 

The shore-cliffs shining, 

Mountains steep, 

And broad sea-noses. 

Then was the sea sailing 

Of the Earl at an end," &c. 



Eight J i Century. 



"5 



AN OLD MAN'S SORROW. 



Careful, sorrowing, 

He seeth in his son's bower 

The wine-hall deserted, 

The resort of the wind noiseless 

The Knight sleepeth 

The warrior, in darkness 

There is not there 

Noise of the harp, 



Joy in the dwellings, 

As there was before ; 

Then departeth he into songs, 

Singeth a lay of sorrow, 

One after one ; 

All seemed to him too wide 

The plains and the dwelling-place." 



GOOD NIGHT. 



The night-helm grew dusky, 
Dark over the vassals ; 
The court all rose, 
The mingled-haired 
Old Scylding 
Would visit his bed ; 
The Geat wished the 
Renowned Warrior to rest 
Immeasurably well. 
Soon him the foreigner, 
Weary of his journey, 
The hall- thane guided forth, 
Who, after a fitting manner, 



Provided all that 

The thane needed, 

Whatsoever that day 

The sailers over the deep 

Should have. 

The magnanimous warrior rested ; 

The house rose aloft 

Curved and variegated with gold ; 

The stranger slept therein, 

Until the pale raven, 

Blithe of heart, 

Announced the joy of heaven, 

The bright sun, to be come." 



All who review these lines will think, with Kemble, that they 
richly repay perusal. First and foremost the graphic picture of 
Beowulf's family, with Helen as wife, mother and hostess, re- 
minds of Greece, Troy, Paris, and the Iliad ; " bracelets freely 
presented " show gallantry to the fair sex among our hyperborean 
ancestors ; next, the ship with foamy neck hurrying over the 
waves like a sea-fowl ; the shore-cliffs shining like steep moun- 
tains, and the broad sea-noses are surely bold metaphors ; finally, 
the bereft father, seeing his son's bower and wine hall deserted, 
the harp * silent, finds the plains and the dwelling-place too 
*ide, all of which portrays the very acme of sorrow in a novel 
manner. A poem of such force, pathos, and primitive simplicity, 
even counting 6,000 lines, could not be tedious, if read in short 



* The mention of this instrument seems to indicate that this poem was 
composed after Alfred the Great had immortalized the harp. Hence the ob- 
scurity and mystery about the date of Beowulf. 



n6 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

lectures and with a desire to know the primitive history and char- 
acter of a race. As the author's name of this hyperborean lay 
has not reached us, let us style him The Northern Homer or 
Hesiod. 



Extracts and Tables from Anglo-Saxon Writings of the 
Eighth Century, showing 
gin of their Vocabulary 



Eighth Century, showing the Style and Numeric Ori- 



The Anglo-Saxon Code of Ina, King of Wessex, opens this 
age. It consists of seventy-nine articles written from 689 to 728, 
and forms the basis for the laws of Alfred the Great. In the 
annals of the Heptarchy Ina's reign is considered one of the most 
prosperous. He could moderate the Anglo-Saxon desire for war, 
as shown by his peaceful settlement with Kent. He, first of the 
Anglo-Saxon kings, showed clemency to the conquered Britons 
in Cornwall. Before his day all the prisoners were killed. The 
vocabulary and style of his code evince linguistic and literary 
progress. After convincing the world of his valor and states- 
manship, Ina intrusted his kingdom to his brother-in-law, Ade- 
lard, and went with his pious queen, Ethelburga, to Rome, where 
he died. The accurate historian, Matthew of Westminster, tells 
us that this good king and patron of learning founded the Anglo- 
Saxon College at Rome, and assigned for its support one penny 
per year on every house in his kingdom. This tax, called Rome- 
scot, was extended subsequently by Offa, King of Mercia, on all 
the houses of Mercia and East Anglia ; and as the money, thus 
collected, was paid at Rome on the day of St. Peter, it was styled 
Peter-Pence. It is said the popes afterwards pretended that it 
was a tribute which the English were to pay to St. Peter and his 
successors. It is evident that Ina was a zealous advocate of 
classic education ; for he died at Rome while founding his col- 
lege. The Extract from Ina's Code is followed by one from 
the "Saxon Chronicle" from A.D. 788 to 795. As there was no 
regular Anglo Saxon author in this century, we took Extracts 
and Tables from these writings. 



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122 



Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 





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Eighth Century. 123 



Synopsis of the different words from the two precedi?ig Tables of 
the Eighth Century. 



Greek : 1 

Latin : 2 1 l Greco-Latin : 24 j Total of the different 

French : * 2 \ > 



l 



Anglo-Saxon: 152 v Gotho-Germanic : 152 



words : 176. 



Hence the style of Anglo-Saxon writing in the 
eighth century shows a vocabulary of different 
words containing about 

86 per cent. Gotho-Germanic or Anglo-Saxon, and 
14 " " Greco-Latin. 

66 of the 152 different Anglo-Saxon words, or 
forty-four per cent., are now obsolete. 

9 of the 152 different Anglo-Saxon words, or 
only six per cent., are now spelt as they were in the 
eighth century. 

The conversion of the Germans, started by Wilbrord and Suid- 
bert, found a zealous champion in Winfrid, born in Devonshire, 
A.D. 680. To omit him would leave the Anglo-Saxon Christian 
legion in Germany without its eminent chief. His arduous labors 
in that country continued over thirty years. Thuringia, Hesse, 
Friesland, Saxony, and Bavaria witnessed his eloquence, zeal and 
fervor. To him many cathedrals, schools, and monasteries owed 
their origin. Pope Leo. III. conferred on him the title of Arch- 
bishop and Primate of Germany, under the highly appropriate 
name of Boniface, A.D. 732. By him Pepin le Bref, father of 
Charlemagne, was consecrated King of the Franks, A.D. 752. 
Pepin le Bref returned the compliment by creating Boniface 
Archbishop of Mentz. Yet, after all, Germany's great apostle 
was murdered near Dokkum, with his companions, by a band of 

* First French words found in the Anglo-Saxon dialect : seint and nefa t 
now saint and nephew. 



124 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

armed Pagan Frisians, while on an excursion to further diffuse 
Christianity and civilization, A.D. 754. England and Germany 
must ever look with pride and gratitude to Win/rid (peace-win- 
ner) or Boniface (benefactor). Thus his Anglo-Saxon and Latin 
names express his life and character. 

Progress of other Medieval Dialects in the Eighth 

Century. 

Up to the eighth century the Anglo-Saxons were the only 
Medieval people that had writing in dieir native dialect, except 
the Goths, who had Ulfilas' translation of the Bible from Greek 
into Gothic, A.D. 376, and perhaps the Irish ''Leabhar nah- 
Uidhei." Francic, or High German, was the next Medieval dia- 
lect that found written expression. As Francic has so much in 
common with Anglo-Saxon, we give a specimen with literal 
English, in order to enable readers to judge, not only of the 
analogy between the two idioms, but to account for the amity 
that existed between the Franks and Anglo-Saxons prior to the 
hatred and wars fostered by the Normano-Plantagenet and Cape- 
tian dynasties. The earliest Francic MS., supposed to date to 
A.D. 720, is an exhortation to Christians, found at the bishopric 
of Freisingen (Bavaria) and Fulde (Hesse), but now at Munich 
and Cassel. 

Francic : 

" Hloset ir, chindo liupostun, rihtida thera galaupa the ir in herein kahuc- 
clicho hapen sculut, ir den christanun namun intfangan eigut, thaz ist chun- 
dida iuuerera christanheiti, fona demo truhtine in man gaplasan, fona sin 
selpes jungiron kasezzit." 

English T?'anslation : 

Listen ye, children dear, to the instruction of the faith, which you in heart 
shall carefully have, (after) you once received the Christian name, that is, the 
knowledge of your Christianity, inspired by the Lord, (and) established by his 
own disciples. 

In this Francic Extract are twenty-eight different words, twenty- 
six of which are somewhat analogous in meaning and spelling to 
twenty-six Anglo-Saxon, twenty-three English, and twenty-four 
German words, as may be observed by the following Table : 



Eighth Century. 



\2 



FRANCIC : 


ANGLO-SAXON : 


English : 


GERMAN : 


Hloset 


Hlosniath 


listen 


lauschet 


chindo 


cylda 


children 


kinder 


liupostun 


luflicostu 


loveliest 


liebsten 


rihtida 


riht 


right 


rich tig 


thera 


thaere 




der 


1 galaupa 


a geleafa 


' belief ' 


glauben 


the 


the 


the 


die 


in 


on 


in 


in 


herzin 


heorte 


heart 


herzen 


1 kahucclicho 


1 gehuged 


hugged 




hapen 


habban 


have 


haben 


sculut 


sceolon 


shall 


sollet 


christanum 


cristene 


Christian 


christlich 


namun 


naman 


name 


namen 


intfangan 


ymbfangen 




enphangen 


thaz 


thaet 


that 


das 


ist 


is 


is 


ist 


chundida 


cunnan 


knowledge 


kunde 


iuuerera 


eowera 


your 


eurer 


fona 


fram 


from 


von 


truhtine 3 


dryhten 2 






man 


man 


man 


mann 


a gaplasan 


1 geblawen 


blown 


1 geblasen 


selpses 


self 


self 


selbst 


jungiron 


iongir 


younger 


j nnger 


x kasezzit 


1 gesette 


set 


*gesetzt 



1 Note the prefix ga and ka in Francic and ge in Anglo-Saxon and German. 

2 Note the Francic and Anglo-Saxon name for Lord, obsolete in English and German. 



Such was the dialect of Pepin and Charlemagne. No wonder 
Wilbrord and Winfrid, Alcuin and Egbert liked to visit their kind 
neighbors, the Franks. The Anglo-Saxon and Francic dialects, 
manners and customs being so much alike, they could easily un- 
derstand, and sympathize with each other. We might quote from 
the song of "Hildibraht and Hadabrant" A.D. 730; from the 
hymn in honor of St. Peter, and from the " Wessobrunn Prayer" 
all Francic MSS. of the eighth century. As yet no vestige of 
writing in French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, or any other 
European Medieval dialect. True, it is claimed by Scandinavian 
archeologists, that part of a poem in "Danska Tunga" (old 
Danish, Icelandic, Cimbric, Old Norse, Scandic, or Norwegian), 
by Starkad, antedates A.D. 645 ; but this claim needs confirma- 
tion. It is curious to observe that most of the numerous Anglo- 
Saxon words, now obsolete in English, are to be found in modern 
German, Danish, Swedish and Dutch. 

Grimm and other German and Scandinavian archeologists, 
claim that parts of the "Poetic Edda" are of very high antiquity; 
yet we are assured that Saemund, born in Iceland, 10,56, was 
the first compiler of the Poetic Edda, that he appears to have 



126 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

written some of these poetic effusions from the recital of cotem- 
porary skalds (bards), and that he collected others from MSS. 
However, we are shown none of those MSS ; nor are we told 
where they are to be found, either in Iceland, Denmark, or Swe- 
den. We are sure that Iceland was settled a thousand years ago, 
for its millennium was celebrated 1874. We also read that after 
many attempts to decipher the Runic characters on the rock at 
Hcby in the province of Bleking, Sweden, Finn Magnusen suc- 
ceeded in explaining those Runes as soon as he tried to read 
them from right to left. He says they are in Old Danish and 
mean : " Him have I among men of the human race, among 
warriors, found the strongest of body." Hence, it is asserted 
that these Runes remount to A.D. 770 — upon what grounds 
we fail to see. After perusing most that has been written on 
Scandinavian archeology, we cannot help lauding the untiring 
research of those Northern savants ; but we must confess that 
their claims to a higher antiquity than the eleventh century, 
for any Northern writings or Runes, rest on a very slender 
basis, and can disturb neither the precedence of Gildas' History 
(A.D. 546), Ethelbert's Code, A.D. 597, Caedmon's Poems, 680, 
Bede's History, A.D. 730, Beowulf, Ina's Code, 820, MSS. of 
which are extant. No Medieval writing in any modern dialect, 
except Ulfilas' Gothic Version of the Scriptures, A.D. 376, has 
yet been found that antedates them. Thus, in spite of German 
and Scandinavian efforts, it remains evident that Anglo-Saxon 
records antedate all writings in other Medieval dialects, except 
Gothic, and perhaps Irish, if the " Saltair of Tai'a " and u Leab- 
har nah-Uidhei" are authentic and genuine. 

The eighth century abounded in startling events and useful 
improvements : Mohammed's religion had so much elastic ad- 
venture as to expand within ninety years from Arabia to Spain, 
which the Saracens invaded A.D. 712, and conquered from the 
last Gothic ruler in Spain, whom Southey portrays in his famous 
poem styled " Roderick the Goth." The Mohammedan victors 
left to the vanquished Christians their property, laws, worship, 
and contented themselves with a slight tribute and the honor of 
commanding ; consequently the Spaniards often intermarried with 
the Saracens and called themselves " Mosarabs " (meaning half 
Spanish, half Arabian). About A.D. 732, Abder-Rahman, leader 



Eighth Century. 127 

of the Saracens, penetrated France as far as Tours, where the 
Franks, under Charles Martel, met the invaders, defeated them 
with immense slaughter, and checked Moslem conquests in West- 
ern Europe. 

The dating of the years from Christ's incarnation commenced 
A.D. 743 ; and the collection of books for the famous library of 
the Vatican, A.D. 750. Charlemagne, invited to protect the 
Pope against the Lombards, crossed the Alps and put an end to 
the kingdom of Lombardy, A.D. 774. Next he conquered the 
Saxons, and extended his empire from the Ebro to the Baltic and 
Hungary. His fame reached the Empress Irene, who it is said, 
wished to wed the western hero. No doubt the Roman hier- 
archy encouraged a union that offered a chance to wipe out the 
difference between Rome and Constantinople, and to reconcile 
the Eastern and Western Christians. Charlemagne's renown also 
echoed to Bagdad, whence the Caliph, Haroun-al-Raschid, sent 
ambassadors with rich presents to the great Ruler of Western 
Europe. The Saracens from Bagdad to Granada so cultivated 
literature, art, and science, that Arabian thought, ideas and wri- 
tings influenced and enriched the Medieval languages and litera- 
tures of Europe. Geber, the father of chemistry, was a Saracen 
of Mesopotamia. While trying to ascertain the degree of fusi- 
bility of the metals, for the purpose of reducing them into gold, 
he discovered nitric acid, corrosive sublimate, nitrate of silver, 
&c, which found their way to Europe, where they have been 
advantageously used over a thousand years. Dr. Hoefer says, 
in his History of Chemistry, that Geber was to chemistry what 
Hippocrates was to medicine. The keen critic, Cardan, ranks 
Geber among the twelve greatest intellects of the world. Hence 
Mesopotamia, that gave hospitality to Abraham, and wives to 
Isaac and Jacob ages before our era, may feel proud for giving 
birth to Geber about A.D. 750. 

This century witnessed the first foreign expanse of England's 
language. Historians and critics saw in King Ina's College at 
Rome, A.D. 728, only the origin of the Peter-Pence and Eng- 
land's subserviency to the Pope. While we concede this point, 
we behold in the founding of that institution something more 
than mere pennies and priestly trickery : Rome was the World's 
Metropolis, whose streets and palaces resounded with Latin and 



128 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

Greek, the two most polished languages of that day. A sagacious 
king of the British Isles resigned the care of his small realm, 
visited proud Rome with his devoted queen, Ethelburga,. and 
conceived the idea of founding a college, where youths of his 
country could be educated, acquire not only Latin, but the 
manners and refinement of Rome, and carry them back to their 
benighted countrymen. This surely was a laudable ambition 
even for a king to possess ; for, while those Anglo-Saxon youths 
dwelt in Rome, they listened to Latin accents and mixed with 
them the sounds of their native tongue, which caused Romans to 
realize, that there was an aspiring nation and language in the 
British Isles even at that early Medieval period. Viewed in this 
light, Ina's College at Rome, A.D. 728, was the first step 
towards the future expanse of England's language. From that 
date Anglo-Saxon scholars began to appreciate Latin linguistic 
gems. A king from humble Wessex started this glorious educa- 
tional movement, whether conscious or unconscious of ultimate 
effects it matters not ; the result was the same ; for Anglo- 
Saxon was heard in Rome, where by concession it obtained a 
home and abiding-place amid all that was intellectual and refined 
in Greco-Latin civilization. Hence the English-speaking popu- 
lations may consider Ina as one of the earliest champions of 
classic education, and the first diffuser of England's language. 



NINTH CENTURY. 



" I desired to live worthily, while I lived, and, after my life, to leave to the men who should 
follow me, a remembrance in good works." — Alfred the Great. 



The small realm of Wessex gave birth to a princely cion, 
cherished by all except a jealous royal kinsman. Thinking his 
life in danger at home, he went to a foreign court, where he 
acquired not only learning, but the science of war and govern- 
ment. 

An intriguing queen instigated a poisoned cup to be prepared 
for one of her courtiers, but accident brought it to the lips of her 
royal consort, who drank it and died. The nation, incensed at 
this foul deed, called for vengeance. The guilty queen fled, and 
after many vicissitudes died miserably at Pavia, in Italy. 

The people that had lost their king remembered the prince, 
his cousin, who was abroad, and sent after him a deputation of 
nobles, who found him a scholar, warrior, and statesman. He 
returned with them to his beloved country, A.D. 800, and ex- 
tended his dominion over the entire Heptarchy. The prince to 
whom I allude was Egbert, his jealous kinsman was Brithric, 
King of the West Saxons. The intriguing queen was Eadburga, 
daughter of OfTa, King of Mercia. The monarch, at whose court 
Egbert found all those advantages was, Charlemagne, who, at 
parting, girded Egbert with his favorite weapon, saying : 

"Your swoi.1, Prince, has honorably served me, take mine ; may it render 
equal service to you." 

This touching anecdote is related by Eginhard, C. 16. It is 
said Egbert caused the Heptarchy to be called u Angla-land" 
its dialect " Anglish" and assumed the title King of Angla-land, 
which was confirmed by a decree of the Witenagemote, A.D. 828. 



130 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

Thenceforth England was a unit in nationality and language. 
Behold posterity's eulogy on Angla-land's first king : 

" Serving in the armies of Charlemagne, the most able and most generous 
prince that had appeared in Europe during several ages, Egbert had acquired 
those accomplishments, which afterwards enabled him to make such a shining 
figure on the throne ; and, familiarizing himself to the manners of the French, 
who, as Malmesbury observes, were eminent both for valor and civility above 
all the western nations, he learned to polish the rudeness and barbarity of the 
Saxon character." — Hume. 

" The historian hastens to commemorate in the accession of the Great 
Egbert the true commencement of England's History." — Peitit Andrews. 

Egbert's reign would have been prosperous, had not the piratic 
Danes harassed various parts of the realm, especially Northum- 
bria, whose dialect their long residence so altered that it was 
called Dano-Saxon. 

King Egbert, though a Saxon by birth, seems to have had a 
predilection for the Angles ; for, when he captured the ancient 
Mona, he called it Anglesey, a name it bore ever since. After 
he had succeeded in uniting the jarring elements of his country, 
he issued an edict, dated Winchester, A.D. 827, abolishing the 
distinction of Saxons, Jutes, and English, ordering all his subjects 
thenceforth to be called the latter name only. There is to this 
day, in the duchy of Schleswig, a district called " A/iglen." 
Thus the name of that comparatively small and obscure Gotho- 
Germanic tribe has been for fifteen centuries cherished, not only 
in the Fatherland and in Britain, but in the Attica of America, 
New England. No doubt the magnanimous Egbert, justly sur- 
named "The Great," remembered that the brightest intellects of 
his nation, such as Edwin, Biscop, Caedmon, Bede, Alcuin, &c, 
sprang from the Angles; he added to his realm Cornwall and 
Chester about A.D. 810. 

Egbert reigned from 800 to 837, and was succeeded by his son 
Ethelwulph, who made a pilgrimage to Rome with his youngest 
son, Alfred, upon whom Pope Leo IV. conferred the royal unc- 
tion. On his return Ethelwulph visited Charles the Bald, King 
of France, whose daughter, Judith, he married and took to Eng- 
land. The ravages of the Norsemen continued during the reigns 
of Alfred's elder brothers. 

In 872 Alfred, the scholar and statesman, mounted the throne, 



Ninth Century. 131 

while the savage northern rovers swarmed all over his desolated 
kingdom. The loss of the stronghold Chippenham caused Al- 
fred's dispirited army to abandon their king, who, in a rustic garb, 
concealed himself in a barren island, since called Ethelingay* 
(Isle of Nobles). There the forsaken monarch passed nearly 
a year with a herdsman, named Denewulsus, where he thought 
over and contrived the means of defeating his foes. We might 
here relate the anecdotes told by Asser, Bishop Goodwin, and 
Malmesbury, of Alfred's forbearance, when the herdsman's wife 
scolded him for letting the cakes burn that she had told him to 
watch. She said, " You can eat them readily enough, I'll war- 
rant, although you will not take the trouble to keep them from 



* Here was found the beautiful gem worn by King Alfred, and now pre- 
served in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford. The setting is of pure gold, 
containing colored stones, cased in very thick crystal ; though a thousand 
years old it is in perfect preservation ; it only looks a little dingy for the great 
length of time that passed over it. It is about two inches long and half an 
inch thick ; round the edge is engraved : \ AELFRED MEC HEHGEGE 
WYRCAN (Alfred me had worked) in pierced gold letters. Alfred's name 
is preceded by a cross. The narrow end of the gem, at which the first and 
last words of this inscription meet, is formed into the head of a griffin, the 
national emblem of the Saxons, having in its mouth a strong gold rivet, to 
which a chain was probably attached. Its fiat form indicates that it was 
worn on the breast, hanging from the chain that passed around the neck, in 
a way similar to ornaments which are yet worn by royalty, on state occa- 
sions. The background is composed of a blue stone, on which appears a 
human figure, clothed in a tunic and girt with a belt, from which a strap for 
a sword hangs towards the left side. The figure is seated on a throne, with 
a cyne-helm or crown on its head, holding in each hand a scepter, branched 
out into fleurs-de-lis. Some antiquaries think the figure represents King Al- 
fred ; others say it is meant for Jesus Christ ; others again consider it as St. 
Cuthbert, who was a patron of King Alfred. It is claimed that one of the 
scepters represents the spiritual and the other the temporal power, united 
in Alfred's hands. The production of such jewels has been ascribed to monks, 
who, according to Malmesbury, were the most skilled artists of that period in 
England, so much so, that curious reliquaries, finely worked and set with 
precious stones, were called throughout Europe " Opera Ang/ica" (English 
works). The figure in this Alfred an jewel has a very oriental look. India, 
China and Japan have been producing the like for ages, and are producing 
such now. As Sighelm brought many curious jewels to Alfred from India, 
A.D. 8S3, is it not possible that this very gem in the jewel now in Oxford 
was brought from India by Sighelm, and Alfred had it set in England? 



132 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

being scorched." Instead of resenting the woman's harshness. 
Alfred subsequently founded a monastery on the site of the 
herdsman's hut, and rinding Denewulsus capable of receiving 
an education, had him instructed and made him Bishop of Win- 
chester. 

After about a year of concealment the deserted king commu- 
nicated with his friends, raised their spirits, entered the enemy's 
camp as a harper, and charmed the Danes so much, that they 
introduced him to their Prince Guthrum, who kept Alfred several 
days in his tent, where he had ample opportunity to see the utter 
abandon and security of his foes. On his release from the Danish 
camp, Alfred collected an army, fell on the Danes, killed most 
of them, and confined the small remainder to Northumbria, where 
they had pillaged and burned everything. Guthrum and the 
remnant of his people became Christian, and swore allegiance to 
Alfred. 

When these wars had passed, Alfred found time to turn a new 
leaf in his country's history: he realized the proneness of his 
subjects to superstition, which destroyed their former courage and 
rendered them an easy prey to their enemies. He saw the Anglo- 
Saxon language drifting into a meaningless jargon, that was 
neither Anglo-Saxon, Danish, Celtic, Gothic, German, Greek, 
nor Latin. In looking over his country's literature, he found 
about one page of Anglo-Saxon to nine pages of poor Latin. 
He also witnessed the low standard of popular education. To 
remedy these defects the statesman and king turned his attention 
to the establishment of a vigilant executive and judiciary, sus- 
tained by a militia and navy. The kingdom he divided into 
counties and districts, with proper officers, judges and justices, 
and instituted a kind of "trial by jury" Next he founded uni- 
versities and schools, and enjoined parents to send their children 
to be instructed. He invited foreigners to his dominions, where 
he fostered both native and foreign industry and manufactures. 
Asser, Alfred's biographer, tells us that this knowledge-craving 
sovereign sent for teachers to France, whence Fulco (Foulques), 
Archbishop of Rheims, sent Grimbald and John, learned in the 
Scriptures and skilled in literary science and in many arts ; that by 
the teaching of these men the king's mind was much enlarged ; and 
that he carried in his bosom a book, as large as a psalter, full of 



Ninth Century. 133 

various matters, which he called his "Enchiridion* or Manual." 
Thus the Anglo-Saxons and Franks interchanged teachers to 
promote education and progress. Foulques' letter to Alfred is 
now cited in Alfred's biographies, and throws much light on the 
circumstances of that period. 

To foster his native tongue and encourage its development, he 
invited scholars to read their Anglo-Saxon books to him. He 
discouraged Latin, saying : " He knew not one priest, either north 
or south of the Thames, who could interpret the Latin service 
of the Church." He engaged Werefrith, Bishop of Worcester, 
to translate Pope Gregory's "Dialogues" from Latin into Anglo- 
Saxon. He read Anglo-Saxon books, learned Anglo-Saxon poems 
by heart, recited them and encouraged others to do the same. 
He translated Esop's Fables from Greek into his native dialect, 
wrote parables and stories, Anglo-Saxonized Bede's " Ecclesias- 
tica Historia Gentis Anglorum" and added to it the poem Cad- 
mon sang while guarding the cattle. To Alfred, England is in- 
debted for the earliest translation of Orosius' " Historiarum 
Libri VII." He not only paraphrased Boethius' " De Consola- 
tione Philosophic" but amplified, improved and seasoned it with 
his royal experience. He also translated Pope Gregory's " Pas- 
toralisT Alfred's "Last Will and Testament" is a masterpiece 
of clear, strong, Laconic writing, as may be realized by our quo- 
tations from his works. 

The JBenet Manuscript, which is the first and earliest of the 
nine Manuscripts that constitute the " Saxon Chro?iicle" is now 
thought to have been originally written by Alfred the Great. 
Some copyist mistook Alfric for Alfred, and the mistake was 
copied by Hickes, Cave, and Wharton. 

Brady on Boroughs ascribes to Alfred the Great a census and 
survey of England, which, it is thought, gave William the Con- 
queror the idea of the "Domesday Books.' 1 '' Hence, Alfred may 
be styled the earliest statistician. 

In Wilkins' "leges Anglo- Saxonicce" L. E., p. 28, is Alfred's 
Code, written in Anglo-Saxon, from which we give an Extract 

* This expressive Greek term, used by the sage and king a thousand years 
ago, heads Hufeland's forty years' medical practice. Thus the stream of 
language flows on from generation to generation. 



134 A?iglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

and Table. It begins with the Decalogue, which this wise king 
thought would give more authority and challenge readier obedi- 
ence. In the body of this Code, Article 49, the great Anglo- 
Saxon ruler adds : " I then, Alfred, King, gathered and caused 
to be copied such of the laws of my ancestors as pleased me, and 
with the approbation of my IVitans I rejected such as displeased 
me. I did not venture to add many of my own, because I knew 
not whether they would please my successors. In my collection 
are found laws of Ina, my kinsman, of Offa, King of Mercia, or 
of Ethelbei't, who took baptism first among the Anglo-Saxon race. 
I then, Alfred, King of the West Saxons, showed these to all my 
Witans, who said that all appeared good and worth keeping." 
Here again the conciliatory spirit and modesty of the great Anglo- 
Saxon ruler is the prominent feature. 

Such was the intellectual and moral legacy Alfred left to his 
country. He truly deserved the surname Great, especially when 
we consider the time and circumstances in which he lived. Asser 
says : 

"Towards the close of his life, Alfred desired to divide his time into three 
parts : one to devote to business, another to study and devotion, and the third 
to rest and sleep. To measure time he had recourse to wax candles, that 
would burn just twenty-four hours ; but, as the air disturbed their burning 
uniformly, he constructed a lantern of transparent horn, in which they could 
burn undisturbed. ' ' 

Thus the ingenious monarch supplied the want of clocks and 
watches, as previously stated. 

I might speak of his musical talent and harp, that rendered 
such signal service in the enemy's camp ; of his privations at 
Ethelingay ; I might extol his courage, heroism, and persever- 
ance through fifty-two battles on land and at sea ; but I leave all 
that to others and pass to a tamer theme, as told by one who was 
at his court, and an eye-witness of all he related : 

"Alfred was a most acute investigator in passing sentence, as he was in all 
other things. He inquired into almost all the judgments, which were given in 
his own absence, throughout all his dominions, whether they were just or 
unjust. If he perceived that there was iniquity in those judgments, he sum- 
moned the judges, either through his own agency or through others of his 
faithful servants, and asked them mildly why they had judged so unjustly ; 
whether through ignorance or malevolence: namely, whether for the love or 



Ni?ith Century. 135 

fear of any one, or hatred of others ; or for the desire of money. Finally, if 
the judges acknowledged that they had given such judgment, because they 
knew no better, he discreetly and moderately reproved their inexperience and 
folly in such terms as these : ' I wonder truly at your insolence, that, whereas 
by God's favor and mine, you have occupied the place and office of the wise, 
you have neglected the studies and labors of the wise. Therefore, either give 
up at once discharging the duties of the office you hold, or else study more 
zealously the lessons of wisdom. Such are my commands.' At words like 
these, earls and prefects would tremble, and endeavor to turn all their thoughts 
to the study of justice." 

From Dickens' account in " Bleak House" England needs 
an Alfred at this present day ; while the United States, especially- 
New York City, need as many Alfreds as there are courts ; for, 
with the referee system as now carried on, both plaintiff and 
defendant are ruined and sick before they get into court. As to 
the impeachment of judges before a senate, it is a costly farce. 
This corrupt judiciary alone is enough to ruin the Republic. 

To fully appreciate the character of Alfred, we must go back 
to his childhood and youth, of which his cotemporary Asser says : 

" He was- not only loved by his parents, but by all the people. As he ad- 
vanced through the years of infancy and youth, his form became more comely 
than that of his brothers. In appearance, speech, and manners he was more 
graceful than they. His noble nature implanted in him from his cradle a love 
of wisdom above all things ; but, with shame be it spoken, by the unworthy 
neglect of his parents and attendants, he remained illiterate till he was more 
than twelve years old. However, he listened with serious attention to the 
Saxon poems he often heard recited, and easily retained* them in his docile 
memory. 

" On a certain occasion his mother was showing him and his brothers a 
Saxon book of poetry, which she held in her hand and said : ' Whichever of 
you shall the soonest iearn this volume shall have it for his own.' Stimulated 
by these words, and allured by the beautifully illuminated letter at the begin- 
ning of the volume, he spoke before all his brothers, who, though his seniors 
in age, were not so in grace, and asked : ' Will you really give that book to 
one of us, that is to say, to him who can first understand and repeat it to 
you ? ' At this his mother smiled with satisfaction and confirmed what she 
had said. Upon which the boy took the book out of her hand and went to 
his teacher to read it, and in due time brought it to his mother and recited it." 

Of Alfred's mother, Asser says : 

"The mother of Alfred was named Osburga, a religious woman, noble both 



136 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

by birth and by nature ; she was daughter of Oslac, the famous butler of King 
Ethelwulf, which Oslac was a Goth by nation, descended from the Goths and 
Jutes." 

This clearly shows that the Gotho-Germanic sovereigns of those 
days had no exclusive ideas that royalty must marry royalty, a 
rule, which even Napoleon L, with all his liberal professions, 
tried to enforce in the case of his brother Jerome, who married 
Miss Patterson. 

King Ethelwulf married his own butler's daughter, Osburga, 
who bore England Alfred the Great. Also Alfred married 
Ethelswitha, the daughter of a Mercian nobleman. Thus did 
the rulers of old consult the bent of their better feelings, without 
regard to diplomacy. 

Alfred always expressed regret, that, while he was young and 
had capacity for learning, he could not be instructed in the. 
liberal arts, because he could not find teachers ; hence he was a 
self-educated man. Before I searched the initials of Angla-land's 
history I considered Alfred as an intellectual and moral phenom- 
enon, a sage dropped from the skies ; but since I have become 
familiar with the galaxy of men and women that preceded or 
were cotemporary with him, I have come to consider him the 
natural outgrowth of his epoch. Ethelbert, Bertha, their daugh- 
ter Ethelburga, Sigebert, Caedmon, Benedict Biscop, Ceolfrid, 
Theodorus, Hadrian, Wilbrord, Wi?ifrid (Boniface), Bede, Al- 
cuin, Ina, and his own grandfather, Egbert, he had before him ; 
their ideas and motives he had contemplated, studied, memorized, 
and their characters and actions he had to emulate him. He 
was of a noble nature and noble by birth. Then his queen, 
Ethelswitha, must have been an eminent woman ; for she raised 
to him a brilliant family of sons and daughters, of whom we shall 
speak in the next century. 

Alas ! this great monarch, exemplary son, husband and father, 
scholar, author, moralist and statesman, was taken from his sor- 
rowing people in the midst of his usefulness, A.D. 901, at the 
age of fifty-two years. As he made an epoch in his country's lan- 
guage and literature, his reign may be styled the Alfredan Era. 

All other Anglo-Saxon writings are tame, when compared 
with King Alfred's ideas and his manner of expressing them ; we 
therefore cite a few of his many Essays, Parables, Proverbs and 



Ninth Century. 137 

Translations, which are of such a style as to improve by closer 
acquaintance. They are of sterling value : the oftener you read 
and the more you consider them, the more they impress you. 
Their very simplicity gives them force and pathos. Our quota- 
tions here are without the Anglo-Saxon text, because we give ex- 
tracts in Anglo-Saxon during six consecutive centuries for our 
Tables from A.D. 597 to 1200 : 

King Alfred's Solicitude about National Education : 

"Alfred the King, to Wufsig, his beloved bishop and friend, Greeting: 

" I wish you to know that it often occurs to my mind to consider what 
manner of wise men there were formerly in the English nation, both spiritual 
and temporal, and how happy the times then were among the English, and 
how well the kings behaved in their domestic government, and how they 
prospered in knowledge and wisdom. I considered also how earnest God's 
ministers then were, as well about preaching as about learning, and men 
came from foreign countries to seek wisdom and doctrine in this land, and 
how we, who live in these times, are obliged to go abroad to get them. To 
so low a depth has learning fallen among the English nation, that there have 
been very few on this side of the Humber, who were able to understand the 
English of their service, or to turn an epistle out of Latin into English ; and 
I know there were not many beyond the Humber who could do it. There 
were so few, that I cannot think of one on the south side of the Thames when 
I first began to reign. God Almighty be thanked that we have always a 
teacher in the pulpit now. Therefore I pray you to do what I believe you 
will be ready to do, that you will bestow all the wisdom which God has given 
you on all around you as far as you are able. Think what punishment shall 
for this world befall us, if we turn out to have neither loved wisdom ourselves. 
nor to have taught it to others; if we have loved only the name of Christi- 
anity, and very few of us have discharged its duties. When I thought of al! 
this, I fancied also that I saw (before everything was ravaged and burned) how 
all the churches throughout the English nation stood full of books, though at 
that time they gathered very little fruit from their books, not being able to 
understand them, because they were not written in their own language. For 
which reason I think it best, if you too think so, that we should turn into the 
language, which we all of us know, some such books as are deemed most use- 
ful for all men to understand, and that we do our best to effect, as we easily 
may, with God's help, if we have quietness, that all the youth of free-born 
Englishmen, such as have wealth enough to maintain them, be brought up to 
learn, that, at an age when they can do nothing else, they may learn to read 
the English language then, and that afterwards the Latin tongue shall be 
taught to those whom they have it in their power to teach and promote to a 
higher degree. When I reflected how this learning of the Latin tongue had 
fallen throughout the English nation, though many knew how to read English 



138 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

writing, I then began, in the midst of divers and manifold affairs of this king- 
dom, to turn into Anglo-Saxon this book, which in Latin is named " Pasto- 
ralis^ * and in Anglo-Saxon the Herdsman 's Book ; " and I will send one of 
them to every bishop's see in my kingdom." 

Thus, in the midst of arduous labors, did the sage of Ethelingay 
find time to attend to national education. According to his biog- 
grapher and friend, Asser, he had ever felt the want of a liberal 
education, and was determined to procure it for his subjects. As 
this letter speaks so loudly for itself, comment would be useless. 
It is said Dante created the Italian language and literature ; if 
so, Dante had an illustrious example in Alfred the Great, who 
raised and enriched the Anglo-Saxon language and literature. 

Natural Equality of Mankind 

"What! all men had a like beginning, because they all came from one 
father and one mother. They all are yet born alike. This is no wonder ; 
because God alone is the Father of all creatures. He made them all and 
governs all. He gave us the Sun's light, and the Moon, and placed all the 
stars. He created men on the Earth. He has connected together the soul 
and the body by his power, and made all men equally noble in their first nature. 

" Why then do ye arrogate over other men for your birth without works? 
Now you can find none unnoble ; all are equally noble, if you will think of 
your first creation and the Creator, and afterwards of your own nativity. 
The right nobility is in the mind ; it is not in the flesh, as we said before ; 
but every man, that is at all subjected to his vices, forsakes his Creator, his 
first creation and his nobility ; and thence becomes more ignoble than if he 
were not nobly born." 



This liberal effusion contains the very essence of the ideas, 
uttered so solemnly in the ''■Declaration of Independence" at 
Philadelphia, 1776. Hence these thoughts floated in the mind 
of a great Anglo-Saxon king from A.D. 880 to 901. Whoever 
conceived that third fundamental principle of governing* men, 
namely, u consent of the governed" whether Jefferson, Tom Paine, 
or any other American statesman — had either read King Alfred's 
works, or was inspired by England's great monarch of old. How 
magnetic vast conceptions are ! No wonder the philosopher and 



* " Pastoralis" written in Latin about A.D. 600, by Pope Gregory I., and 
translated into Anglo-Saxon by Alfred the Great, was a kind of Pastoral 
Letter or Good Shepherd*s Book for the priesthood. 



Ninth Century. 139 

poet penned these mysterious lines, whose author we know not. 
They seem Shakespearian : 

" All natural objects have 
An echo in the heart. This flesh doth thrill, 
And has connection, by some unseen chain, 
With its original source and kindred substance : 
The mighty forest, the grand tide of ocean, 
Sky-cleaving hills, and in the vast air, 
The starry Constellations ; and the Sun, 
Parent of life exhaustless — these maintain 
With the mysterious mind and breathing mould, 
A coexistence and community." 

The philosophic and statesmanlike thoughts, so tersely stated 
in King Alfred's "Natural Equality of Mankind," probably came 
to him while living concealed at Ethelingay with the. herdsman, 
where he had ample time and opportunity to realize (as he says), 
that " the right nobility is in the mi?id, and not in the fie shy To 
this conclusion he must have come, when he subsequently had 
the herdsman educated and made a bishop. 

King Alfred's Conception of Power. 

" Power is never a good, unless he be good that has it ; and that is the 
good of the man, not of the power. If power be goodness, why then is it 
that no man by his dominion can come to virtues and to merit ? But by his 
virtues and merit he comes to dominion and power. Thus no man is better 
for his power ; but if he be good, it is from his virtues that he is good. From 
his virtues he becomes worthy of power, if he be worthy of it. 

" Learn therefore wisdom ; and when you have learned it, do not neglect it. 
I tell you then, without any doubt, that by it you may come to power, though 
you should not desire the power. You need not be solicitous about power, 
nor strive after it. If you be wise and good, it will follow you, though you 
should not wish it. 1 ' 

No wonder those who most thoroughly investigated these prac- 
tical sayings, styled them "The Proverbs and Parables of King 
Alfred^ 

King Alfred's "Philosophic Address to the Deity. 

" O Lord, how great and how wonderful art Thou ! Thou, Who, all Thy 
creatures visible and also invisible hast wonderfully made, and wisely doest 



140 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

the end, hast established in such order that from Thee they all proceed, and 
to Thee return ! Thou, Who all moving creatures stirrest to Thy will, whilst 
Thou Thyself remainest ever tranquil and unchangeable! 

" Hence, none exist mightier than Thou art ; none like Thee. No neces- 
sity has taught Thee to make what thou hast made, but Thine own will ; and 
by Thine own power Thou hast created all things. Yet Thou hast no need 
of any. Most wonderful is the nature of Thy goodness ; for it is all one, 
Thou and Thy goodness. Good comes not from without to Thee ; but it is 
Thine own, and all that we have of good in this world, and that is coming to 
us from without, proceeds from Thee. Thou hast no envy towards any- 
thing. 

" None therefore is more skillful than Thou art. No one is like Thee ; 
because Thou hast conceived and made all good from Thine own thought. 
No man has given Thee a pattern ; for none of these things existed before 
Thee, to create anything or not ; but thou hast created all things very good 
and very fair ; and Thou Thyself art the highest and the fairest good. As 
Thou Thyself didst conceive, so hast thou made this world ; and Thou rulest 
it as Thou doest well ; and Thou distributest Thyself all good as Thou pleas- 
est. Thou hast made all creatures alike, or in some things unlike ; but Thou hast 
named them with one name. Thou hast named them collectively, and called 
them the world. Yet this single name Thou hast divided into four elements. 
One of these is earth ; another, water ; the third, air ; the fourth, fire. To 
each of these Thou hast established his own separate position ; yet each is 
classed with the other, and so harmoniously bound by thy commandment that 
none of them intrudes on the limits of the other. The cold striveth with the 
heat, and the wet with the dry. The nature of the earth and water is to be 
cold. The earth is dry and cold ; the water wet and cold. The earth then 
is called either cold or wet, or warm ; nor is this a wonder, because it is made 
in the middle, between the dry and the cold earth, and the hot fire. The fire 
is the uppermost of all this world's creations. 

" Wonder-like is Thy plan, which Thou hast executed, both that created 
things should have limits between them, and also be intermingled ; the dry 
and cold earth under the cold and wet water, so that the soft and flowing 
water should have a floor on the firm earth, because it cannot of itself stand ; 
but the earth preserves it, and absorbs a portion, and by thus imbibing it, the 
ground is watered till it grows and blossoms and brings forth fruits. Yet, if 
the water did not thus moisten it, the earth would be dried up and driven 
away by the wind like dust and ashes. 

" Nor could any living creature enjoy the earth, or the water, or any earthly 
thing, for the cold, if Thou didst not a little intermix it with fire. Wonderful 
the skill with which Thou hast ordered that the fire should not burn the 
water and the earth. It is now mingled with both. Nor, again, can the 
water and the earth. It is now mingled with both. Nor, again, can the 
water and the earth entirely extinguish the fire. The water's own country 
is on the earth, and also in the air, and again above the sky; but the fire's 
own place is over all the visible creatures of the world ; and though it is 



Ninth Century. 141 

mingled with all the elements, yet it cannot entirely overcome any of them ; 
because it has not the leave of the Almighty. 

" The earth, then, is heavier and thicker than the other elements, because' 
it is lower than any othei", except the sky. Hence the sky is every day on its 
exterior ; yet it nowhere more approaches it ; but in every place it is equally 
nigh, both above and below. 

" Each of the elements that we formerly spoke of, has its own station 
apart ; and though each is mingled with the other, so that none of them can 
exist without the other, yet they are not perceptible within the rest. Thus 
water and earth are very difficult to be seen, or to be comprehended by unwise 
men, in fire, and yet they are therewith commingled. So is also the fire in 
stones and water very difficult to be perceived ; but it is there. 

" Thou bindest fire with very indissoluble chains, that it may not go to its 
own station, which is the mightiest fire that exists above us ; lest it should 
abandon the earth, and all other creatures should be destroyed from extreme 
cold, in case it should wholly depart. Thou hast most wonderfully and firmly 
established the Earth, so that it halts on no side, and stands on no earthly 
thing ; but all earth-like things it holds, that they cannot leave it. Nor is it 
easier for them to fall off downwards than upwards. 

"Thou also stirrest the threefold soul in accordant limbs, so that there is 
no less of that soul in the least finger than in all the body. By this I know 
that the soul is threefold, because philosophers say that it hath three natures ; 
one of these natm*es is, that it desires ; another, that it becomes angry ; the 
third, that it is rational. Two of these natures animals possess the same as 
men : one is desire, the other is anger ; but man alone has reason, no other 
creature has it. Hence, he has excelled all earthly creatures in thought and 
understanding ; because reason shall govern both desire and anger. It is the 
distinguishing virtue of the soul. 

" Thou hast so made the soul that she should always revolve upon herself, 
as all the sky turneth, or as a wheel rolls round, inquiring about her Creator 
or herself, or about the creatures of the Earth. When she inquires about 
her Creator, she rises above herself; when she searches into herself; then 
she is within herself ; and she becomes below herself when she loves earthly 
things and wonders at them." 



This is a great production, if we consider that it was penned a 
thousand years ago, when other Medieval peoples had hardly a 
written dialect, to say nothing of a literature. How the royal 
sage must have studied and collated what was known of nature's 
arcana, to combine and express this chain of ideas with such 
clearness and precision in his native tongue ! So simple, yet so 
comprehensive ; so full of tender emotions, yet contemplative 
and solemn. All the science of Alfred's day is skilfully epito- 
mized in this prayerful essay. Alfred lived six centuries before 



142 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

Copernicus and seven before Newton ; yet he clearly hints at 
the Copernican idea of Earth's situation in space, and at the 
Newtonian law of gravitation, when he says : "Thou hast most 
wonderfully and firmly established the Earth so that it halts on 
no side, and stands on no earthly thing ; but all earth-like things 
it holds, that they cannot leave it. Nor is it easier for them to 
fall off downwards than upwards." I often wondered how the 
English-speaking populations came to this peculiar gift of earnest 
devotional utterance, which during my long peregrinations I 
found in no other nation either Gotho-Germanic, Greco-Latin, 
or Sclavonic. Here I find its source in King Alfred's works of 
the ninth century. A noble inheritance ! and how nobly the 
English-speaking populations have valued it. The Pilgrims 
carried it to America, where it has lost none of its fervor by ex- 
pansion. It is being diffused all over the globe, with a language 
happily adapted to extemporaneous speaking, prayer, and exhor- 
tation. An Englishman or American has the faculty of speaking, 
praying or exhorting at a moment's notice ; and now even women 
begin to cultivate that national gift. The Franco-Normans of 
A.D. 1066, and the Huguenot emigrants gained that eloquent 
fervor, wherever they came in contact with the English. 

Thus have the methods and styles of transmitting thought and 
wisdom been various ; the ideas of Confucius come to us in conver- 
sations ; Zoroaster's in dialogues with Ormuzd ; King David's in 
psalms; Valmiki's in poetic imagery, called Ramayana; Socra- 
tes' in morals; Aristotle's in dialectics and logic; Cicero's in 
harangues; Tacitus' in "Annals;" Chaucer's in tales; Dante's 
in "Divina Commedia; " Shakespeare's, Racine's, Schiller's, &c, 
in dramas and tragedies ; Cervantes' in burlesques ; Newton's in 
" Principia ;" Kepler's in " Cosmographic Mystery ; " Cuvier's in 
" Regne Animal ; " Franklin's in electricity ; Kant's in " Critique 
of Pure Reason ; " Laplace's in " Mecanique Celeste ; " Mrs. 
Hemans', Tennyson's, Bryant's, and Longfellow's in poetic effu- * 
sions ; Darwin's in "Origin of Species;" — whereas the thought 
and wisdom of the royal sage of Winchester, A.D. 900, reach us 
in the form of an "Address to the Deity ; " because he would 
allow neither pope nor priest to stand between him and his God. 
Thus did Alfred the Great embody his conception of God and 
the universe in a fervent prayer. Such variety of styles renders 



Ninth Century. 143 

the writings of departed and living sages more acceptable and 
impressive ; for monotony chills the imagination, fetters reason, 
and arrests progress. 

Now let us bestow a few moments on the Last Will and Tes- 
tament of that wisest of kings. As it is written in Anglo-Saxon 
of his style, it was, no doubt, penned or dictated by himself. 

Gleanings from King Alfred's Last Will and Testament : 
I. " I, Alfred, King by God's grace, with the advice of Archbishop Ethel- 
red, and with the concurrence of the West-Saxon Senate, have thought of my 
soul's health, of the inheritance God gave to me and my ancestors, and of the 
legacy King Ethelwulf, my father, bequeathed to us three brothers : Ethel- 
bald, Ethelred, and to me ; and, which of us soever might live longest, should 
take all, &c. 

6. "I, Alfred, by God's grace, King of Wessex, and with that concurrence, 
declare how I will my inheritance after my day, &c. 

26. " I will, if there be any fee unpaid to any men, that my relations should 
pay it. 

27. " My grandfather left his land to the spear-half (males), and not to the 
spindle-half (females). Wherefore, if I give to any female what he had ac- 
quired, let my relations redeem it, if they wish to have it while she is living ; 
if it be otherwise, let it go after their day, as we before determined. For 
this reason I ordain that they pay for it, because they will succeed to what 
I give either to the female or male side as I will. 

28. " I beseech, in God's name, that none of my relations or heirs obstruct 
any of the freedom of those I have redeemed. The West-Saxon nobles em- 
powered me to leave these either free or bond as I desire. But for God's 
love and my soul's welfare, I will they should be masters of their freedom and 
of their will ; and in the living God's name, I intreat that no man disturb 
them either by money-exactions, or in any manner, that they should not choose 
any man they may like. 

29. "And I will that they restore to the families at Dummer their land- 
deeds and their free liberty to elect any person who may seem to them most 
agreeable ; for my sake and Elfreda's, and for the sake of the friends both she 
and I interceded for." * 

Note how thoroughly and minutely this Last Will and Testa- 
ment was considered with the spiritual and temporal authorities 

* The following sentence: "The English have an undoubted right to 
remain as free as their own thoughts," has been quoted as from Alfred's 
Will. I can find no such idea or expression therein ; consequently some 
writer, who pretended to know Anglo-Saxon, must have twisted part of Article 
28 or 29 into tins fanciful meaning. 



144 Anglo-Saxon Period ', A.D. 449-1200. 

of the nation, about A.D. 885 ; how tenderly the great monarch 
mentions the fair sex, overlooked by his grandfather; how he 
alludes to ?nen, whose fees might be unpaid. But the most strik- 
ing feature in this ancient writing is the solicitude that the freedom 
he had granted to any subject, or any class of his subjects, should 
be respected by his relations, heirs, and successors. However, 
not only liberty of person, but also land wrongfully and hastily 
taken is remembered. Even the liberality and mercy of his be- 
loved daughter, Elfleda, find a place among the last wishes of 
the great Anglo-Saxon king. 

We have thus cursorily reviewed some of the choicest speci- 
mens of Anglo-Saxon literature from Alfred's varied writings, 
covering the philosophic, epistolary, scientific, moral, and devo- 
tional styles. As our Tables for six centuries (A.D. 597-1200) 
necessitate Anglo-Saxon extracts, we omitted the Anglo-Saxon 
text here and gave free translations to show the mode of think- 
ing. There is no exaggeration in saying Anglo-Saxon literature 
culminated and died with Alfred the Great. 

It is said about A.D. 890 Alfred desired the traditions and 
records concerning the Anglo-Saxons should be collected and 
compiled into a succinct history under the supervision of Pleg- 
mund, Archbishop of Canterbury. It is supposed his Majesty aided 
in writing this national work, entitled the "Saxon Chronicle." 
Some critics claim that Alfred compiled the whole. Notice how 
unostentatiously this record mentions the Saxons, Angles, and 
Jutes : 

LITERAL ENGLISH : 

A.D. 449. Here Martian and Va- 
lentinian took the empire, and reigned 
seven winters. In their days Hengist 
and Horsa, invited by Vortigern, 
King of the Britons, to his aid, came 
to Britain in the place which is called 
Ebsfleet, &c. ; then came the men 
from three provinces of Germany, 
from the Old Saxons, from the Angles, 
from the Jutes.* 



ANGLO-SAXON : 

"An. CCCCXLIX. Her Martia- 
nus and Valentinianus onfengon rice 
and ricsodon VII winter. \ On heora 
dagum Hengest and Horsa from 
Wyrtgeorne gelathode Bretta cyninge 
to fultume. gesohton Bryteneon tham 
stsethe theisgenemned Yproinesfieot.'. 
&c. tha com tha menn of thrim 
moegthum Germanie, of Seaxum, of 
Anglum of Iotum. '. 



The simplicity and genuineness of this Medieval Record from 
* The above is quoted from Ingram's London Edition of 1823. 



Ninth Century. 145 

A.D. 1 to 1 154, does credit to those who transmitted it to pos- 
terity. Think of a book, containing the transactions and events 
concerning England and other countries from A.D. 449 to 1154, 
or seven hundred and five years, in as unpretending a style as 
the above, and you will have an idea of the "Saxon Chronicle," 
which must ever be regarded as an inexhaustible mine for the 
historian, poet, philosopher, and statesman. 

The materials for this national record had been in the capitals, 
abbeys and convents of the Heptarchy, where priests, abbots, 
bishops, and kings had written and kept them from the time the 
Anglo-Saxons received Christianity, and with it an alphabet and 
writing. Now they were collected, compared, and chronologi- 
cally arranged into a record, in which we find royal births, mar- 
riages, erecting of churches and cathedrals, synods and councils 
in the same year and paragraph with deaths, murders, and bat- 
tles. Yet this very confusion adds to its veracity ; for there 
seems to be no attempt to conceal or falsify. It is a literary 
monument, of which not only England, but the ninety English- 
speaking millions may justly feel proud. As far as my historic 
reading and research have gone, I found no other ancient or 
Medieval nation that can boast of a parallel. 

King Alfred had heard, through Abel, Patriarch of Jerusalem, 
that there were poor and destitute Christians at St. Thomas and 
St. Bartholomew in India. To relieve them, the compassionate 
monarch sent an enterprising priest, named Sighelm, who reached 
India, fulfilled his mission, and returned with many curious jew- 
els, which were to be seen in the time of the historian William of 
Malmesbury, A.D. 1143, at the Cathedral of Sherborn, of which 
Sighelm was made bishop by Alfred. It is thought some of those 
jewels are now in an old crown, kept in the Tower of London. 
The Saxon Chronicle, A.D. 883, mentions Sighelm' s mission to 
St. Thomas and St. Bartholomew in India. Asser says he saw 
and read the letters that Abel wrote to Alfred, A.D. 888. Flor- 
ence of Worcester alludes to Sighelm's mission in his chronicle, 
A.D. 1118. Thus England sent aid to India a thousand years 
ago. How things changed from Alfred (A.D. 900) to Victoria, 
A.D. 1878. After a lapse of seven centuries England sent Sir 
Thomas Roe as ambassador to the great Mogul Jehangire (A.D. 
16 1 5). Now Queen Victoria is Empress of India. No wonder 
10 



146 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

the descendants of the Medieval Goths and Germans yearned to 
repossess themselves of the patrimony of their Asiatic Arian an- 
cestors. As previously stated, there is a mysterious magnetism 
and attraction in this beautiful universe. 

We read in the Saxon Chronicle, A.D. 885, that, with the 
sanction of Pope Martin, King Alfred restored at Rome the An- 
glo-Saxon school, which had been destroyed by fire. A.D. 816. 
It is said King Alfred, about 893, sent an expedition to the 
Arctic Ocean under an exiled Norwegian prince, called Ohthere, 
who sailed as far as the White Sea and the mouth of the Dwina, 
whence he safely returned and handed his observations to Eng- 
land's monarch. Nothing more was heard from that hyperborean 
region till 1553, when Richard Chancellor made an exploring ex- 
pedition to the White Sea. We also read of an expedition by 
Pytheas, a merchant of Massilia (Marseilles), who reached Ultima 
Thule (Iceland) about 250 B.C. Hence hyperborean expeditions 
are no novelty. Thus King Egbert, grandfather, gloriously began, 
and King Alfred, his grandson, gloriously ended the ninth century. 

King Alfred's Parting Advice to his Son and Successor. 
" My dear son, set thee now beside me, and I will deliver thee true instruc- 
tions. My son, I feel that my hour is coming. My countenance is wan. 
My days are almost done. We must now part. I shall go to another world, 
and thou shalt be left alone in all my wealth. I pray thee (for thou art my dear 
child), strive to be a father and a lord to thy people ; be thou the children's 
father and the widow's friend; comfort thou the poor and shelter the weak; 
and with all thy might, right that which is wrong. And, son, govern thyself 
by law; then shall the Lord love thee, and God above all things shall be thy 
reward. Call thou upon Him to advise thee in all thy need, and so he shall 
help thee the better to compass that which thou wishest." 

October 26, A.D. 901, witnessed the death of this great meteor- 
like king, after a most useful career of fifty-two years. He was 
England's David and Solomon, with this difference, that his life 
and character knew no earthly blemish. Behold what a grateful 
posterity said of his version of Boethius' " De Consolatione Philo- 
sophies ": 

*' The Hand-book of the Middle Ages for all who united piety with philos- 
ophy." — Dr. Hook. 

"A golden book, not unworthy of Plato or Tully." — Gibbon. 

" But the greatest and most endearing epithet is i Engla7id's Darling?" — 
The English People. 



Ninth Century. 



147 



Three centuries had elapsed since the Anglo-Saxon dialect had 
first appeared in writing, under King Ethelbert, A.D. 597, and 
adopted a few Greco-Latin words. The slight changes it had 
experienced during that period, may be seen in some of the fol- 
lowing words, culled from King Ethelbert's Code of the sixth, 
Caedmon's poems of the seventh, and King Alfred's writings of 
the ninth century : 



Ethelbert, 


Caedmon, 


Alfred, 


English, 


German, 


Gothic, 
Danish and 
Swedish : 


6th century : 


7th century : 


9th century : 


1878 : 


1878 : , 




fol 


ful 


full 


voll 


fulds, Go. 




wolde 


wulde 


would 


wolte 






%o d 


god 


good 


gut 


goda, Go. 






flod 


flood 


fluth 


flod, Sw. 






flor 


floor 




( figgrs, Go. 


finger 




tol 


finger 
tool 


finger 


•< finger, Dan. 
( finger, Sw. 


freond 




frind 


friend 


freund 


frende, Dan. 






hund 


hound 


hund 


hund, Sw. 







hu 


how 








nu 


nu 


now 


nun 


nu, Go. 






thu 


thou 


du 


du, Sw. 






wulf 


wolf 


wolf 


ulf. Sw. 




miht 


miht 


might 


macht 


magt, Sw. ' 






niht 


night 


nacht 


nahts, Go. 




riht 


riht 


right 


recht 


rigtig, Dan. 






Mona 


Moon 


Mond 


mena, Go. 


thurh 


thurh 


thurh 


through 


durch 








genog 


enough 


genug 


ganag, Go. 


and 


and 


and 


and 


und 


unte, Go. 




wundra, pi. 


wunoor 


wonder 


wunder 





In comparing these twenty-one words of Alfred's epoch with 
present English and Gotho-Germanic, you will find that Anglo- 
Saxon of Alfred's day has assumed a complicated form and utter- 
ance. Particles usually remain unchanged ; yet such was not 
the case in English ; for simple and terse hu, nu, thu, thurh, and 
genog, became how, now, thou, through, enough, each having one 
or two more letters, and a sound utterly at variance with the 
letters. Among the six particles in the above list, and alone 
escaped linguistic disharmony. 

When King Alfred changed Caedmon's fol and wolde into ful 
and wulde, he had a motive, and that motive must have been to 
adapt letter to sound and sound to letter; for Alfred was a prac- 
tical sage. O in god, flod, flor, and tol, had evidently in Alfred's 
time a uniform sound, which he did not change into u, as he did 
in fol, wolde, nor did he double the in god, flod, flor, and tol. 



148 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

Yet, since Alfred's period, these very words, and others like 
them, have been metamorphosed into good, flood, floor, and tool, 
with three different sounds, that complicate the English language 
and retard its progress. Alfred simplified Ethelbert's fir eond by 
writing it /rind, which has since been incumbered with two vow- 
els where one would suffice. He did not replace hund, hn, 1111, 
and thu, by hound, how, now, thou, which Walker calls " the most 
irregular assemblage of vowels in our language ; " neither did he 
substitute to u in wulf, and then pronounce that o like u in blue. 
He would not encumber such words as miht, niht, and riht, 
with a superfluous mute g, as has been done since his day ; nor 
would he double in mona and pronounce 00 like u in blue. 
Such confusing and retrograde changes the royal scholar, who 
understood music and harmony, would have considered an insult 
to common sense. 

What would the sage of Ethelingay think, say, or do at seeing 
enough in juxtaposition, not only with the simple Anglo-Saxon 
genog, and the original sonorous Gothic ganag, but with through, 
dough, bough, bought, drought, draught, taught, to say nothing of 
laugh, gauge, gauze ; finite, infinite, entice, notice ; Jiome, come ; 
comb, combat, tomb ; dove, grove, groove ; hall, haul, shall ; flour, 
hour ; bow, n., bow, v.; know, 71070 ; flour, flower, lower ; door, 
poor ; far, war ? What would he think, say, or do ? Why, Al- 
fred and such confusion could not exist together ; he would seize 
his harp, enter the enemy's camp, ascertain the weak point, rally 
practical linguists around him, order all court and government 
documents and books to be written and printed without useless 
mute letters, according to the plain, common-sense German rule : 
Write and print as you pronounce, and pronoimce as you write 
and print ; then he would introduce these books into the court, 
military, naval, and government schools — thus rendering the 
people's native tongue phonetically worthy of its simple gram- 
mar, superior vocabulary and ultimate destiny to become the 
universal language on Earth. 

Extracts and Tables from Anglo-Saxon writings of the ninth 
century, showing the style and numeric origin of their vocabulary. 
They are from the "Saxon Chronicle" and King Alfred's Code 
of Laws, about A.D. 878 : 



4 



Ninth Century. 149 

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3 is^a^ll-si* ^^lis^l 11= 



W) 









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r 'u 



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a>ajrt--.rt""rtiiajt/)aj !) ^ ? ''■oS b'S 



, 1 S LIS |S i« |g.| Bf 1 |a|jf5-aaj5 JSt 



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fc 5f„ S -S ^•-2 2 3 sa!^£c)o h 7'c 



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150 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

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£ „ .2 4, co -o ~ « "3 - _. «*£. g 



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p. 



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Ninth Century. 



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On 

k 

CO 

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152 



Anglo-Saxon Period ', A.D. 449-1200. 



00 

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p? 






TS is 
c 



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ncj o 

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>> 4) 

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s > 
-3 & 



*}_, 


O 





b/i 


rQ 


G 


tuo 




u 

G 


c 



^ hH ~ 



o 3 



•~ G 
G O 
O -G 



1« d 



>-, _c 



«"? 5 ^ 



£ « -3 rS B 



31 



s 1 j* 



Jo 

** -° ^ 

o o £ 

G rG ^ 

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J3 



G S 

G •£ ^ 

2 ^ s 

211 
I Is- 



000 
fc & fc 



~ -5 £ .. 

G J3 -^ 

2 O aj pj 

"i 'G ^G > 

4-> -4-1 (L) <5 

o o ^ "S 

fc 2i H -g 



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T3 

G ^ 
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to -a 1 
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m g 

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G ° 

2 ^ 



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t 8 



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o 

g aj 

S I 
si 

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rG <U 



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2 S 

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& 8 

G w 

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bo 



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ns • _| pj y 



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Ninth Century. 



153 



t "" 1 <u 



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CJ 



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53 ^ "" -2 

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154 



Anglo-Saxon Period \ A.D. 449-1200. 



00 

00 



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^J J. 

A -a 
^ § 



1 



< 



s : 









n 



12 



s s 

•rj t-. 

3p 









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£-3 



Ninth Century. 155 

Synopsis of the different words from the two preceding Tables 
of the Ninth Cefitury : 



Greek : 


2 ; 




* 




Latin : 
French : 

Anglo-Saxon : 


1 

162 ; 


► Greco-Latin : 

- Gotho-Germanic : 


11 

162 


Total of the different 
words : 173 



Hence, the style of Anglo-Saxon writing in the 
ninth century shows a vocabulary of different 
words, containing about 

94 per cent. Gotho-Germanic, and 
6 " Greco-Latin. 

Sixty-nine of the 162 different Anglo-Saxon 
words, or forty-three per cent., are now obsolete. 

Fifteen of the 162 different Anglo-Saxon words, 
or only nine per cent., are now spelt as they were 
in the ninth century. 

Progress of other Medieval European Dialects in the 
Ninth Century. 

In die beginning of this age appeared the first writing in Flem- 
ish or Dutch. It was a translation of the Psalms under Charle- 
magne, about A.D. 800. Heliand, a Harmony of the Gospels 
in Old Saxon or Low German, also appeared about that period. 
There is a MS. thereof at Munich, and one in the British Museum, 
London. The earliest writing in French, now extant, is a treaty 
between Charles the Bald, and his brother, Louis the Germanic, 
dated Strasburg, Alsace, on the 16th Kalends of March, A.D. 
842. It was written in French and in Francic or Old High Ger- 
man. The armies of the two sovereigns endorsed this treaty by 
their oaths. Copies of this alliance and oaths are in the History 
of Nithard (A.D. 790-853), grandson of Charlemagne. The 
Franks spoke a Germanic dialect, called Francic or High Ger- 
man ; but under Clovis, when they became Christians, they 
mixed it with the idiom of the Gauls, consisting of Latin and 
Celtic, and formed French. About A.D. 868, Germany saw 



156 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

Otfrid's "Krist" a poetic Paraphrase of the Gospels in Francic 
or High German, of which three copies are extant : one at Mu- 
nich, another at Heidelberg, and a third at Vienna. Caedmon's 
Anglo-Saxon Paraphrase of the Scriptures preceded Otfrid's by 
nearly two hundred years. Otfrid's MS. is considered the most 
precious monument in the Fatherland's idiom. 

First Written Specimen of the Dutch or Flemish Language 
under Charlemagne, about 800. 

Psalm lvii. 1-4. 

1. "Ginathi mi got ginathi mi. uuanda an thi gitruot sila min. In an scado 
fitheraco thinro sal ic gitruon untis farliet unreht. 

2. Ruopen sal ik te gode hoista. got thia uuala dida mi. 

3. Sanda fan himele in ginereda mi. gaf an bismere te tradon mi. 

4. Santa got ginatha sina in uuarheit sina. in generida sela mina fan mitton 
uuelpo leono. slip ik gidruouit. Kint manno tende iro geuuepene in 
sceifte. in tunga iro suert scarp." 

English. — Psalm lvii. 1-4. 

1. Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me ; for my soul trusteth 
in thee ; yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these 
calamities be overpast. 

2. I will cry unto God most high ; unto God that performeth all things for 
me. 

3. He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that 
would swallow me up. Selah. 

4. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth. My soul is among Lions : 
and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, 
whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword." 

There is some analogy between old Dutch or Flemish, and 
English ; but not as much as there is between English and the 
following specimen from the Saxon or Low German : 

Heliand, written in Old Saxon during the Early Part of the 
Ninth Century. 

parable of the sower. 

" Huat ik iu seggean mag quad he* gesidos mine, huo imu en erl bigan* an 
erdu sehan' hren corni mid is handun. Sum it an hardan sten* obanuuardan 
fel* erdon ni habda. that it thar mahti uuahsan* eftha uurteo gifahan. kinan 
eftha bicliben. ac uuard that corn farloren. that thar an theru leian gilag."— 
Heliand, 1. 6-10. 



Ninth Century. i$7 

LITERAL ENGLISH. 

" What I you say may, quoth he, companions mine, how a farmer began 
on earth to sow pure corn with his hands, some of it on hard stone fell, earth 
not had, that it there might wax, or roots take, germinate or stick, also was 
that corn forlorn (lost), that there on the road lay." 

By these 'few lines may be seen how much Old Saxon or Low 
German is and looks like English ; yet it is and looks more like 
Anglo-Saxon. This primitive old Saxon writing may be attributed 
to the self-sacrificing Anglo-Saxon missionary, Winfrid, who be- 
came the Apostle of Germany, and Archbishop of Mentz, under 
the name of Boniface, A.D. 732, and was murdered by the Pa- 
gans, while preaching the Gospel to the Old Saxons, A.D. 755. 

The Earliest Writing in French, A.D. 842. King Louis' Oath: 

"Pro deo amur et pro christian poblo et nostro commun salvament, dist 
di in avant, in quant deus savir et podir me dunat, si salvarai eo cist raeon 
fradre Karlo et in adjudha et in cadhuna cosa, si cum om per dreit son fradra 
salvar dist, in o quid il mi altresi fazet, et ab Ludher nul plaid nunquam prin- 
drai, qui meon vol cist meon fradre Kaiie in damno sit." 

LITERAL ENGLISH : 

"For God's love and for the Christian people and our common preserva- 
tion from this day and henceforth, in so far as God gives me wisdom and 
power, so shall I assist this my brother Charles, and in assistance and in any 
cause, so as one by right ought his brother to assist in such a manner, as he 
may do to me ; and with Lo'thar I will not enter into any treaty which to me, 
or to this my brother Charles, can do an injury." 

King Charles' Oath in Francic or High German, A.D. 842. 

" In godes minna ind in thes christianes folches ind unser bedhero gehaltnissi, 
fon thesemo dage frammordes, so fram so mir got genuizci indi mahd furgi- 
bit, so haldih tesan minan bruodher soso man mit rehtu sinan bruodher seal, 
in thiu thaz er mig so soma duo, indi mit Ludherem in nohheiniu thing ne 
gegangu, the minan uuillon imo ce scadhen werdhen." 

LITERAL ENGLISH : 

" In God's love and for the Christian folk and our better preservation, from 
this day forward, so far as me God knowledge and might gives, so hold I this 
my brother, so as one with right his brother should, in as much as he me the 
same do, and with Lothair in no thing will I go, which to my will or to him 
shall harm become." 

Charles' oath in Francic or High German resembles English, 



158 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

but not so much as the Old Saxon or Low German of the Heli- 
and ; whereas Louis' oath in the early French or Romance 
language is almost Latin. 

Let us close our quotations from these Medieval relics with a 
specimen from 

Otfrid's Paraphrase of the Gospels in Francic or High German, 

A.D. 868. 

" Sehet these fogala. thie hiar fliagent obana. 

zi akare sie ni gangent. ioh ouh uuiht ni spinnent 
Thoh ni bristit in thes. zi uuaru thoh ginuages. 

ni sie sih ginerien. ioh scono giuuerien. 
Biginnet ana scouuon. thie fronisgon bluomon. 

thar liuti after uuege gent, thie in themo akare stent. 
Salomon ther richo. ni uuatta sih gilfcho. 

thaz sagen ih iu in ala uuar. so ein thero bluomono thar." 

LITERAL ENGLISH : 

" See these fowls, they here fly above. 
To the acre (field) they not go, yea, also not spin, 
Yet not want in anything, they truly have enough; 
Neither they themselves nourish, and fine make (beautify). 
Begin to look at the splendid flowers, 
After which people go ; they in the acre (field) stand ; 
Solomon, the rich, not dressed himself like- 
That say I you in all truth — one of the flowers there." 

Thus we had occasion to show clearly and distinctly : 

1. That the first Greco-Latin words, introduced into the 
Anglo-Saxon dialect, were directly or indirectly connected with 
Christianity or its ethics. 

2. That from the formation of the Anglo-Saxon alphabet and 
Ethelbert's Code, A.D. 597, to Alfred the Great, A.D. 872, Eng- 
land's dialect steadily progressed to a national literature, with 
legislators, chroniclers, poets, historians, essayists, moralists, and 
authors in most branches of intellectual development, as may be 
noticed by our quotations. 

3. That in the ninth century England had comparatively a 
florishing literature, when other Medieval European countries — 
Germany, the Netherlands, and even France, had but mere rudi- 
mentary attempts at writing in their national dialects ; and when 
Italy, Spain, and Portugal had no sign of a written native idiom. 



Ninth Century. 159 

Plenty of poor Latin, but miserable specimens of writing in the 
people's own language. Ireland claims to have writing prior to 
the ninth century, and shows " Leabhar nah-Uidhre" now pre- 
served in Dublin. No doubt Hibernia was an early center of 
learning : for she saw apostles, divines, missionaries, orators, 
scholars, and authors in Palladius, St. Patrick, Columba, Colom- 
ban, Gall, &c, from A.D. 430 to 700. Even Wilbrord and Win- 
frid visited Ireland, before they undertook their missions to Ger- 
many. Hence she may claim early writings and documents. 

John Scotus, surnamed Erigena (Erin-born), was another in- 
tellectual luminary from the British Isles. His fame reached 
Charles the Bald, who, it is said, invited him to France and 
intrusted him with the direction of the University of Paris. Eri- 
gena' s principal work was " De Divisione Natures." He also 
wrote a treatise on "Predestination" which was considered hete- 
rodox at Rome. The world is indebted to Erigena for a Latin 
translation of the works of Dionysius Areopagita. We are told 
Alfred the Great called this Irish sage to Oxford. As Erigena's 
birth and death are variously reported, it may be safely said that 
he fiorished from A.D. 850 to SS6. Quite a humorous anecdote 
is related concerning Charles the Bald and John Scotus : One 
day, while convivially seated opposite each other at a festive table, 
the Emperor asked Scotus : " What is the difference between a 
Scot and a SotV " Precisely the width of the table," retorted 
the Irish wit. This caustic answer delighted the French mon- 
arch, and the evening passed pleasantly, which does credit to 
Charles' hospitality and good nature. Thus the British Islanders 
and Franks ever went hand in hand to diffuse Christianity and 
civilization, till England's throne was reached by the Plantagenets, 
whose only object was to win France, make Paris their capital, 
and use England as a mere province. Erigena imitated Pelagius 
and prepared the way for Wickliffe ; hence his writings were not 
relished by the Roman hierarchy. 

The French missionary, Anscarius, preached the gospel to the 
Danes and Swedes, among whom he made converts and became 
Bishop of Hamburg, A.D. 831. He is known as the " Apostle 
of the Norths 

In this age the Greek Empire had an author, who deserves our 
attention : Photius, to whom we are indebted for MvptopcfiXov 



160 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

(Myriobiblon, thousand books), a commentary on, and repertory 
of, ancient Greek writers. Had this thoughtful critic not made 
such numerous extracts from the books he studied, the world 
would miss much Greek thought and pathos ; for about 80 of the 
279 authors, from whom he quoted, are lost. Moreover, Myrio- 
biblon became a model for Medieval critics and bibliographers 
in every language and literature. Photius also wrote a Lexicon, 
of which only fragments reached us ; but even these fragments 
were precious to modern classic lore. Among the different MSS. 
of Myriobiblon, that of Thomas Gale, now in the library of Trinity 
College, Cambridge, (styled Galean MS.), is the best preserved 
and most valuable. This eminent scholar was born in the capital, 
of a noble family. After having been ambassador to Assyria and 
occupied other high stations in the Empire, Bardas appointed 
him Patriarch of Constantinople in the place of Ignatius, to which 
Pope Nicholas I. took exception, and (A.D. 862) excommuni- 
cated Photius, who assembled a council and excommunicated 
the Pope. This papal and patriarchal cross-firing was the origin 
of the great schism between the Western and Eastern churches, 
which has continued, with more or less violence, over a thousand 
years. 

We cannot close this century without alluding to Haroun-al- 
Rachid in connection with Charlemagne, founder of the Western 
Empire, Egbert, uniter of the Heptarchy, and Alfred, restorer of 
England. All four adorned this age and ended their brilliant 
careers therein ; all four favored and encouraged civilization and 
learning. Charlemagne and Al-Rachid felt such a mutual affinity 
for each other, that they interchanged civilities and tokens of es- 
teem in Medieval times and across seas and deserts. While 
Charlemagne and his court, including Egbert, attended the wise 
teachings of Alcuin at Aix la Chapelle, Haroun-al-Rachid emu- 
lated their example at Bagdad, which made him the hero of the 
ii Arabia?i Nights" that were since translated into most lan- 
guages, have been, are, and ever will be the delight of readers all 
over the globe. The Saracens collected the Greek thought and 
writings, which passed to Spain, whence they reached Western 
Europe with Arabic literary gems. 

In this century England's language expanded beyond the Hep- 
tarchy, settled by the Jutes, Saxons, and Angles, from A.D. 449 



Ninth Century. 161 

to 586 ; for King Egbert conquered Chester in North Wales, 
A.D. 828, and Cornwall in South Wales, A.D. 835, where the 
Cornish language died with Dorothea Pentreath, A.D. 1778, who 
was the last person that could speak it. He also added to Eng- 
land the Isle of Mona, which he called Anglesey. King Ina's 
College at Rome was consumed by fire, A.D. 816. Alfred the 
Great, who felt proud of that educational institution, restored it 
A.D. 885, so that England and her language should not be un- 
represented in the Metropolis of the Christian world. The An- 
glo-Saxon people and language became known at Jerusalem, 
whose Patriarch, Abel, corresponded with Alfred the Great, 
A.D. 888. Ohthere, Alfred's naval commander, carried, A.D. 
893, England's flag and language to the Arctic Ocean, White Sea, 
and Dwina, where they were seen and heard by the Norsemen, 
Finns and Samoyedes. Even the primitive home of the Arian 
race saw the earnest and daring priest, Sighelm, who, sent by 
Alfred the Great to relieve the destitute Christians of St. Thomas 
and St. Bartholomew, carried his nation's name and language to 
distant India, A.D. 883. No wonder England cherished the 
idea of extending her empire and language to India ! 



TENTH CENTURY, 



"The Anglo-Saxon literature, with the exception of the 'Beoiuulff is Christian, &c. The 
Icelandic contains the key to many a riddle in the English language, and to many a mystery 
in the English character." — Max MUller. 

As we closed the ninth century with a mere mention of Alfred's 
queen and family, we must speak of them in the tenth. Ethel- 
switha, Alfred's worthy queen, deserves posterity's gratitude for 
having raised so talented a family to the king and sage. Asser 
alluded to her without giving her name, but speaks thus of her 
parent : 

" The mother of this lady was named Edburga, of the royal line of Mercia, 
whom we have often seen with our own eyes ; she was a venerable lady, and 
after the decease of her husband she remained many years a widow, even till 
her death." 

Athelred, a Mercian earl, was her father. Alfred married Ethel- 
switha, A.D. 868, four years before he became king. Such is the 
scanty account concerning this worthy queen, mother, and 
woman. How partially history and biography have been written ! 
Asser wrote so much trash about monks, nuns, and churches, 
that he found no room for the domestic virtues of Alfred's modest 
queen. 

Behold an important event in England's early history : hitherto 
Anglo-Saxon sovereigns had married Frankish princesses ; but 
no Frankish prince had yet married an Anglo-Saxon princess. 
Alfred's deeds had reached across the channel ; hence, his 
daughter Ethelswitha, named for her mother, was sought by and 
married to Baldwin, Count of Flanders, about A.D. 900. Thence- 
forth existed a closer connection between England and the con- 
tinent. Ethelswitha's virtues so shone, that her five nieces, 
daughters of her brother Edward, were sought and wedded to 



Tenth Century. 163 

sovereigns and princes of Europe. Ethelswitha bore to Baldwin 
two sons, Ethelwulf and Arnulf ; and two daughters, Elswid and 
Armentruth. 

Edward, the elder, who succeeded Alfred, was an able monarch 
worthy of his father. During his reign England was harassed 
by roving Danes, who often had occasion to realize Edward's 
vigilance and military prowess ; but, even amid these troubles, 
he found leisure to patronize literature and art. The Castle of 
Colchester is a monument of his taste for architecture. He is 
considered as the founder of the University of Cambridge. As 
previously stated, his sister Ethelswitha had paved the way to 
•European thrones for Anglo-Saxon princesses. Edward had nine 
daughters, five of whom married European sovereigns : Edgiva 
wedded Charles the Simple, King of France ; Edgitha espoused 
Otho I., Emperor of Germany; Ethilda married Hugo the 
Great, Count of Paris; a fourth married Gormon, King of 
Denmark ; and a fifth, Louis the Blind, King of Provence, home 
of the Troubadours. Thus was Europe supplied with Anglo- 
Saxon princesses. As was usual in those days, some child of the 
family was to be dedicated to the Church : such was the lot of 
Ethelgiva, for whom Alfred built a nunnery at Shaftesbury, where, 
she passed her life as abbess amid many other noble ladies. 

There remains but Alfred's youngest son, Ethel werd, who, like 
his father, took to intellectual pursuits and books. Of him Asser 
observes : 

" Ethelwerd, the youngest, by the Divine counsels and the admirable pru- 
dence of the king, was consigned to the schools of learning, where, with the 
children of almost all the nobility of the country, and many also who were 
not noble, he prospered under the diligent care of his teachers. Books in both 
languages, namely, Latin and Saxon, were read in the school. They also 
learned to write ; so that before they were of an age to practice manly arts, 
as hunting and such pursuits befitting noblemen, they became studious and 
clever in the liberal arts." 

This clearly shows us, not only the system of education of that 
day, but Alfred's liberality in having his son educated in a mixed 
school of nobles and commoners. 

When Ethelwerd reached manhood, he wielded. both the sword 
and the pen; hence Malmesbury, A.D. 1143, styled him " noble 
and magnifice7it.' 1 ' 1 This royal scholar wrote what is now known as 



1 64 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

"Ethelwercts Chronicle" beginning with the Creation and ending 
A.D. 975. However, instead of following his practical father's 
example and writing in his native tongue, he followed the fashion 
of his day and wrote in poor Latin. Yet his Chronicle has merits 
not to be found in others : first and foremost, brevity was his aim ; 
because it was written for and to be sent to his illustrious cousin, 
Matilda, daughter of Otho, Emperor of Germany. As he was 
neither monk nor priest, his Chronicle does not abound in over- 
pious effusions and overstrained visions. The highest merit of 
Ethel werd's Chronicle is its veracity, emanating as it did from a 
noble and high-toned stock that could not prevaricate if it tried. 
This royal literary production of forty octavo pages begins with 
a letter full of gentleness, sentiment, and chivalry to the imperial 
Matilda. Were it in Anglo-Saxon, like Alfred's writings, I should 
choose it as an Extract and Table to show the status and progress 
of the language in the tenth century. Poor Latin as it is, I can- 
not help quoting some of its translation, so as to enable readers 
to look in upon those times and realize, not only what the epis- 
tolary style was, but what family and domestic relations were in 
Old England a thousand years ago : 

"To Matilda, the most eloquent and true handmaid of Christ, Ethelwerd 
the patrician, health in the Lord : 

" I have received, dearest sister, your letter, which I longed for; and I not 
only read it with kisses, but laid it up in the treasury of my heart. Often 
and often do I pray the grace of the Most High to preserve you in safety 
during this life, and after death to lead you to his everlasting mansions. 

"As I once before briefly hinted to you by letter, I now, with God's help, 
intend to begin in the way of annals from the origin of the world, and ex- 
plain to you more fully our common lineage and descent, so that the reader's 
task may be lightened and the pleasure of the hearer may be increased while 
he listens to it." 

Here he describes the genealogy of the royal house, with al- 
lusions to the Anglo-Saxon princesses, wedded to European 
princes, and speaks of his niece, who married 

" A certain king near the Jupiterean Mountains, of whose family no memo- 
rial has reached us, partly from the distance and partly from the confusion of 
the times. It is your province to inform us of these particulars, not only 
from your relationship, but also because no lack of ability or interval of space 
prevents you." 



Tenth Century. 165 

Next follows his Chronicle of four books, which closes, A.D. 
975, in this simple, unostentatious manner : " Here happily ends 
the fourth book of 

Fabius Ethelwerd, 

Questor and Patrician." 

The king near the Jupiterean Mountains was Louis the Blind, 
King of Provence. The Jupiterean Mountains are the Alps. 
By this letter we realize that intercourse was difficult and slow; 
because even royal and imperial families could not easily cor- 
respond. No telegraphs, no tunnel through the Jupiterean Moun- 
tains, no mails by steam ; aye, not even stage-horse mails ! 

We may talk of dark ages and barbarians : the above letter en- 
nobles any age, country, tribe, or nation. Such a correspondence 
for mutual instruction does honor, not only to the Gotho-Germanic 
royal stock, but to humanity. A universal history, written by a 
prince for and to an imperial princess ! and that history couched 
in Latin, presupposes a knowledge of Latin in Matilda. The 
masses may have been ignorant, even barbarous ; but they had 
enlightened leaders, as is clearly proved by Matilda and Ethel- 
werd. 

Such was Alfred's family, whose ramifications may seem lost in 
the dim past, even as was the princess who wedded the Jupi- 
terean Mountain king ; yet these ramifications were a leaven, 
that has been, is and will be permeating humanity's mass forever. 

Asser wrote King Alfred's biography in Latin ; being a Briton, 
he could not have written in Anglo-Saxon. A short history, 
styled "Annals of Asser" or Chronicle of St. Neot, has also been 
attributed to him. He was Bishop of St. David's, Wales, before 
he became the intimate of Alfred, who made him Bishop of Sher- 
born. His biography of Alfred has one defect : it merely alludes 
to Alfred's queen, who, as I previously said, must have been an 
excellent woman, otherwise the royal offspring would not have 
been so brilliant. The idea of attempting a biography and 
omitting the better half, seems queer, to say the least of it. 
Whatever may have prompted this omission, it is unpardonable. 
To enable the reader to understand the relation between Alfred 
and Asser, I will quote from his account of their first interview 
at the "Royal Vill of Dene;' A.D. 884: 



1 66 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

" He received me with kindness, and among other familiar conversation, 
asked me eagerly to devote myself to his service and become his friend ; to 
leave all I had on the left bank of the Severn, and he would give me more 
than an equivalent. I replied : I could not rashly promise such things : for 
it seemed to me unjust to leave these sacred places, where I was bred, edu- 
cated and ordained, for the sake of earthly honor and power, &c. If you 
cannot accede to this, at least let me have your services in part : spend six 
months of the year here, and the other six in Britain. I could not even 
promise that hastily, without the advice of my friends, &c." 

No doubt Asser's name and fame had reached the great mon- 
arch before this interview. In the course of the biography we 
realize that subsequently Asser spent sometimes eight months of 
the year with his royal friend ; directing his studies, reading to him, 
and advising with him about both eternal and temporal affairs. 

I know there are those who question the authenticity of Asser's 
writings, on the plea that they are compilations of a later date. 
To me Asser's biography bears inherent and intrinsic evidence 
of authenticity and genuineness as to time, circumstances, and 
persons, to say nothing of style and language. 

King Alfred had so ennobled the harp that every gentleman 
owned one, and attempted to play on it. No creditor could seize 
the harp of his debtor, and no slave was allowed to play it. The 
harp has ever since been held in high honor in England. 

King Athelstan, about 938, advanced his native tongue by order- 
ing a translation of the Scriptures, which, according to Wharton, 
he saw done under his own patronage. He gave to the Church 
of Durham a copy of the four Gospels, which are now in the 
Cottonian Library in the British Museum. This was the third 
version into the Gotho-Germanic dialects : that by Ulfilas into 
Gothic, A.D. 376, was the first, and that by Otfrid into old 
German, A.D. 868, the second. To Athelstan England is also 
indebted for an Anglo-Saxon Code of Laws, a copy of which is 
in Wilkins' "Leges Anglo-Saxoniccz." It contains twenty-six 
clauses and was issued A.D. 924. 

As yet the Anglo-Saxon idiom had been little heard at sea, 
because commerce had languished, partly on account of the 
piratic Norsemen, partly from lack of ships and sailors. Alfred 
the Great had started a navy ; Athelstan encouraged merchants 
by a decree that entitled any merchant, who had made three long 
sea voyages at his own expense, to be a thane or a gentleman. 



Tenth Century, 167 

This law was the origin, not only of English enterprise and 
commerce, but of England's idiom becoming the language of the 
Deep, as it is now and is likely to remain, starting with Ohthere 
under Alfred the Great. 

Another linguistic improvement may be traced to this century : 
the universal adoption of small rounded letters, and abandonment 
of angular capitals, except for titles, initials, and marks of ortho- 
graphic distinctions. 

Alfric, surnamed the Grammarian, wrote u Grammatica Latino- 
Saxonica." The text is Latin, with Latin extracts from Prisci- 
anus and Donatus, which Alfric translated into Anglo-Saxon for 
the use of pupils, who were studying Latin. It seems there was 
no grammar written for students to learn Anglo-Saxon, because 
the dialect had hardly emerged from its origin, as may be observed 
by our Tables, when it became mixed with Latin and Danish, 
which were superseded by Franco-English, A.D. 1066. The 
stoppage of the Saxon Chronicle, A.D. 1154, was the grave of 
Anglo-Saxon and the cradle of Franco-English. 

Grammar is but the ultimatum of a progressed language • it is 
to language what fruit is to the tree, which has to grow, bud, and 
flower, before you can expect fruit. We are told Hebrew, which 
is considered the most ancient language, had neither grammarian 
nor grammar till A.D. 1040, when Rabbi Judah Hioug of Fez 
analyzed that original idiom and gave to the world a grammar 
thereof. Greek had florished many centuries when Plato, 400 
B.C., considered its development. Next Aristotle, 336 B.C., re- 
duced Plato's thoughts to a grammar, which Epicurus taught 
among the Greeks 250 B.C. The Latin tongue had existed from 
752 till 170 B.C., when Crates Mallotes, a Greek by birth, taught 
the Romans the grammatic art. After all, the old Jews were 
sensible and practical not to indulge in grammatic technicalities, 
which are but a waste of thought without adequate compensation. 
Children are made to lose much precious time in grammatic 
puerilities. That immense volume styled "Grammaire des gram- 
maires" is filled with what Moliere would call niaiseries. The 
sooner grammar is dropped, language harmonized as to letter and 
sound, and simplified as to declensions and conjugations, the 
sooner mankind will enter upon a progressive career, and chil- 
dren will have time for more important studies. 



1 68 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

To Alfric, the Grammarian, are attributed an Anglo-Saxon and 
Latin Dictionary ; an Anglo-Saxon History of the Old and New 
Testament, and Anglo-Saxon Homilies, which were translated 
into English by the accomplished lady scholar, Mrs. Elstob, 1709. 
As previously stated, it is now thought that the Saxon Chronicle 
from 55 B.C. to A.D. 975, attributed to Alfric, was written by 
Alfred the Great. Alfric became Archbishop of Canterbury 
A.D. 995, and died 1006. He was a great admirer of Pope 
Gregory I., about whom he wrote a homily, from which we take 
an Extract and Table. 

Towards the close of this century the Danes harassed Ireland 
as they had done England under Alfred the Great and his suc- 
cessors ; but Brian Boru, King of Munster, A.D. 978, was quite 
a match for those ruthless sea-kings. After defeating them in 
numerous encounters, this brave king of the Emerald Isle fell, at 
the battle of Clontarf, in the midst of a signal triumph over the 
King of Leinster, aided by the Danes, A.D. 1014. Then and 
there Ireland began to attract the attention of England and 
Europe. Ancient records of Ireland also claim that Brian Boru, 
when but sixteen years old, was with his brother Mahon, King 
of Munster, at the famous battle of Sollyhead, A.D. 941, where 
most of the Danish chiefs and their followers were killed. We 
read that about A.D. tooo, Brian Boru introduced the use of 
family names in Ireland, so as to avoid confusion in genealogy. 
Thenceforth the son of Carthach was styled MacCarthaigh (now 
MacCarthy) ; the son of Moroch, MacMoroch; also MacMaJion, 
MacNamara, &c, Mac being the Irish for son. The grandson 
of Brian called himself O 'Brian ; the grandson of Donnell. 
O 'Donnell ; so with O'Neill, O' Conor, &c, O' being the Irish 
for grandson. This was not only a legal, but a linguistic im- 
provement in genealogic documents and records. 

Extracts and Tables from Anglo-Saxon authors of the tenth 
century, showing their style of writing and the numeric origin of 
their vocabulary. They are from the poem on the Battle of 
Brunanburgh, A.D. 938, in the Saxon Chronicle, and from Alfric's 
Homily on the Birth-day of St. Gregory, about A.D. 905. 



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Tenth Century. 1 75 

Synopsis of the different words from the two preceding Tables of 
the Te7ith Century : 



Total of different 
words : 184. 



Greek : 1 ) Grec0 . Latin . 8 

Latin : 7 j 

Anglo-Saxon: 175 >- Gotho-Germanic : 175 
Hebrew : 1 !■ Semitic : 1 

Hence, the style of Anglo-Saxon writing in the 
tenth century shows a vocabulary of different 
words, containing about 

95 per cent. Gotho-Germanic. 
4 " Greco-Latin, and traces of Semitic. 

Eighty- four of the 175 different Anglo-Saxon 
words, or forty-eight per cent., are now (1878) ob- 
solete. 

Only 26 of the 175 Anglo-Saxon words, or fifteen 
per cent., are spelt now (1878) as they were in the 
tenth century. 

" 'There could be nothing more deplorable than the state of letters in Italy 
and in England during the tenth century." — Hallam. 

Ethelwerd's Chronicle, Asser's Biography, Athelstan's Trans- 
lation of the Scriptures, and Alfric's numerous Anglo-Saxon 
writings, do not show England's state of letters so very deplor- 
able, when we consider the times and circumstances. 

As to Italy, Pope Sylvester II. (Gerbert), scientist, philosopher, 
and mechanician, redeems her and all Europe ; for the Arabian 
figures, introduced by him, gave a new impetus, not only to 
arithmetic, mathematics, and astronomy, but to science, com- 
merce, mechanics, and even to domestic concerns. They were 
to the exact sciences what alphabetic letters were to language. 
Ten small figures : 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, o, superseded the seven 
cumbersome Roman letters, I, V, X, L, C, D, M. These ten 
small figures soon started enterprise and navigation, constructed 
telescopes, calculated the motions of the earth, moon, sun, plan- 
ets, and comets, counted the stars, and gauged the depths of the 



176 Anglo-Saxon Period \ A.D. 449-1200. 

universe. What would science, what would the world do without 
them ? The sagacious monk first saw these figures — and learned 
mathematics from the Saracens — while in Spain, about 980. 

Gerbert, the poor boy from Auvergne, the imperial and royal 
tutor, archbishop and pope, worked this wonderful mathematical 
change from about 994 to 1003. While at Emperor Otho's court, 
Gerbert constructed a clock and regulated it upon the polar star. 
Numerous mathematical essays, one hundred and forty-nine 
epistles, and a discourse against Si??tony, illustrate the career of 
this remarkable genius. A century with one such luminary, to 
say nothing of the skilled Elfleda and the erudite Ethelwerd and 
Matilda, cannot be called u deplorable" We do not inquire here 
whether our arithmetical figures originated in Arabia or India ; we 
leave that to hypercritics, and simply claim that Pope Sylvester 
II. perceived their utility, and used his influence to introduce 
them among the Medieval Christian nations in the tenth century. 

Cardinal Baronius calls the ninth and tenth centuries " a period, 
which for barbarity and profligacy may be compared to iron, and 
for blindness and ignorance may be styled the age of darkness." 

Facts versus theory : The ninth century witnessed the Hercu- 
lean labors of Anscarius, who, as previously stated, was styled 
the "Apostle of the North " among the Danes and Swedes. He 
was a monk of Picardy, and the first archbishop of Hamburg. 
After King Harald Klak's baptism at the court of Louis the 
Pious, Emperor of Germany, Anscarius accompanied him to 
Denmark, where he preached Christianity amid great vicissitudes ; 
then went to Sweden, where he did the same thing, and ultimately 
saw the Gospel take root and florish among tribes who had for 
years considered pillage and war as the most honorable occupa 
tion. Anscarius died 864 ; but his zealous disciples, Autbert 
and Eembert, continued the work he had begun. As the Alfredan 
era and its Anglo-Saxon progress closed with the ninth century 
and is fresh in the memory of readers, we need but allude to it. 

The tenth century saw the efforts of Haquin the Good, King 
of Norway, to diffuse Christ's teachings among his subjects, about 
935. It is said Haquin was educated and baptized at the court 
of Athelstan in England ; hence he is called by some historians 
Haquin Adelstan. Some changes intervened before Norway 
enjoyed the blessings of peace and civilization. 



Tenth Century. 177 

Mieczyslaw, King of Poland, influenced by his Queen Dom- 
browska, embraced Christianity with all his subjects, A.D. 965. 
A splendid monument, by Ranch, has been lately raised to this 
early Christian king, in Posen, his native city. 

Otho II., Emperor of Germany, stood sponsor to Harald, 
King of Denmark, while Bishop Popo baptized him and his son 
Sweyn, 974. True, Svveyn soon relapsed into Odinism, but 
Christianity outlived him, as it did all his pagan cotemporaries in 
Denmark. Another gentler and more widespread Christianizing 
belongs to this era : Anna, sister of the Emperors Constantine 
and Basil, married Wladimir, Duke of Russia, and won him and 
his nation to Christ, 988. To this heroic princess, who exchanged 
brilliant Constantinople for hyperborean Novogorod, 65,000,000 
souls now look as the morning star of their civilization. Princess 
Olga had been baptized, 955, but her example had no effect on 
the Tartar mind. 

Adalbert, Bishop of Prague, preached the Gospel to the Bohe- 
mians, Poles, Hungarians, Prussians, Lithuanians^ and suffered 
martyrdom in Rugen, A.D. 997. He is styled the Apostle of 
Bohemia, Hungary, and Prussia. The Poles regard him as the 
author of their national war-song, u Roga Rodzica" 

Next the eminent, learned, and practical Pope Sylvester II. 
closed "the age of darkness" by sending to Stephen, chief of the 
savage Hungarians, the title of king, with a diadem of Greek 
workmanship. Thenceforth Stephen's subjects, who had ravaged 
Europe for years, became Christian, and turned their swords into 
ploughshares, A.D. 1000. Thus, at the close of the tenth century, 
was Medieval Europe christianized and on the way of progress. 

Had Hallam and the erudite Cardinal, librarian of the Vatican, 
remembered all these important events, they would have written 
more cheeringly of those times. I can see in that age an unselfish 
struggle to diffuse civilization. True, the masses were blind and 
ignorant, but what opportunities had they ever had to be other- 
wise ? Some of their leaders, both male and female, made almost 
superhuman efforts to extricate their benighted brothers and 
sisters from barbarism. 

To this century belongs the oriental epic poem that has at- 
tracted so much attention, not only because it is the gem of 
Persi.m poetic lore, but because it throws light upon and har- 



178 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

monizes ancient and Medieval history, geography, ethnology, and 
philology. This poem is the " Shah-Namah" (Book of Kings), 
by the Khorassan bard, Firdousi. It is said to contain 56,000 
distichs. As soon as Sultan Mahmood heard of Firdousi' s genius 
he called him to his court, and being delighted with his glowing 
strains, ordered that he should be paid a thousand pieces of gold 
for every thousand couplets he might produce. Behold Sir 
William Jones' eulogy on Shah-Namah : "A glorious monument 
of Eastern genius and learning, which, if it ever be generally 
understood in the original language, will contest the merit of 
invention with Homer himself. As there is of this epic an ex- 
cellent translation by Julius von Mohl, an abridgment by J. At- 
kinson, and an able criticism in Sir W. Gore Ouseley's " Bio- 
graphical Notices of the Persian Poets," we refer readers to them. 
This oriental bard florished about 995. Also Alkalem II., Sul- 
tan and Caliph of Cordova, encouraged Moslem literature, science 
and art in collecting a large library, and founding colleges, hos- 
pitals and mosques, scintillations of which reached other European 
languages, literatures, and schools of art. The Saracens greatly 
advanced geography : Haukal, of Bagdad, visited most countries 
under Moslem rule from the Indus to the Quadalquivir, and wrote 
an accurate geographic treatise, which the eminent English orien- 
talist Ouseley translated into four quarto volumes. Aboo Ryhan 
left an excellent work on geography and astronomy. While the 
Arabian savants explored the Levant, Adam of Bremen explored 
the Scandinavian regions and left to posterity " De Situ Daniae," 
which abounds in curious geographic accounts of the homes of 
our Gotho-Germanic ancestors. 

Some Frank translated into Francic, Boethius' " De Consola- 
tione Philosophise," which Alfred the Great had translated for 
his people a century before. 

We must not omit here the earliest information from the far 
East : Chinese records, corresponding with this century, state 
that during the administration of Foung Tao, Prime Minister of 
the Emperor Ming Troung (A.D. 930), the first attempt at 
printing was made in China, whence the idea may directly or 
indirectly have reached Europe, where it had time to ripen among 
the Medieval nations, till Guttenberg succeeded in rendering it- 
practical A.D. 1440. 



ELEVENTH CENTURY. 



"Even before the conquest, Anglo-Saxon began to fall into contempt." — Warton. 

In the eighth century we alluded to the first landing of the 
Danes at Portland, A.D. 789, and to the subsequent influence 
their piratic inroads would exercise on the Anglo-Saxon character 
and dialect. Now we will point out some of the linguistic changes 
that began about 870 in Northumbria, conquered and reconquered 
by these rovers, who amalgamated with the Angles. We are 
told the Danes are descended from the Cimbri, who had a pecu- 
liar idiom, still preserved in the Icelandic. It seems those taci- 
turn sea-kings despised linguistic inflections, affixes, and suffixes, 
in which Anglo-Saxon abounded ; hence they dropped them and 
unconsciously produced what has since been styled Dano-Saxon. 
They usually dropped n in Anglo-Saxon words, especially final n 
of the termination an of the infinitive ; they also added, omitted, 
or changed vowels and even syllables, as may be observed by 
these few illustrations : 



ANGLO-SAXON : 


DANO-SAXON : 


Drincan 


drinca 


greipan 


greipa 


habban 


habba 


deraan 


doeme 


naman or noman 


nama or noma 


ondraedan 


ondx-ede 


seistan 


seista 


begen 


bege 


twegen 


twege 


Cyning 


Cynig 


eftsona 


eftso 



ENGLISH : 

to drink 

to gripe 

to have 

to deem 

name, n. and v. 

to dread 

sixth 

both 

two 

King 

forthwith 



The Danes also used the preposition to, and dispensed with 
the termination of the Anglo-Saxon dative case. Thus began 



i8o Anglo-Saxon Period, A. D. 449-1200. 

! 

the removal of inflections and the simplification of the Anglo- 
Saxon grammar. This lasted as long as Danish influence, which 
began with Guthrum, A.D. 870, and ended with Hardicanute, 
A.D. 1041. 

I might eulogize Ethelred's marriage with Emma, u The Pearl 
of Normandy ;" I might contrast Edmund Ironside's heroism 
with Ethelred's supineness ; I might cite Emma's diplomatic union 
with the rude Dane, Canute ; I might enlarge on the crimes of 
Earl Godwin ; but as such details have no connection with 
language or literature, let us hasten towards times more propi- 
tious to human progress. After two centuries of pillage and war- 
fare, the Danes succeeded in placing Canute on the throne of 
England, A.D. 1017. . Two short Danish reigns disgusted the 
people to such a degree that they restored the Saxon line in 
Edward the Confessor, who returned from France and assumed 
the crown of his ancestors with the approbation of all parties, 
A.D. 1042. 

As there is a most reliable cotemporary historian, Ingulphus, 
it may be advisable to let him relate the linguistic, literary, and 
social status of his day and generation : 

"King Edward, though born in England, was brought up in Normandy, 
and from his long stay there had almost become changed to a Gaul ; he con- 
sequently brought over with him, or attracted great numbers from Normandy, 
whom he promoted to many dignities and greatly exalted. The consequence 
was that under the government of the king and of other Normans, who had 
been introduced, the whole land began to speak the Gallic tongue, as though it 
was the great national language ; they executed their charters and deeds after 
the manner of the Franks, and in these and many other ways showed them- 
selves ashamed of their own customs." 

Of Editha, Edward's queen, Ingulphus tells us : as a boy he 
attended the school of Westminster, and when on his way home 
he passed the royal palace, the queen often called him in, ex- 
amined him as to his progress in logic, and then ordered one of 
her maids to give him a sumptuous meal and some pocket-money. 
This erudite historian extols her beauty, wit, and learning. The 
lovely character of Editha called forth this popular line : 

" Sicut spina rosam, genuit Godwinus Editham." 



Eleventh Ce?itury. 181 

It is thus felicitously imitated : 

" As amid thorns a rose's blush we trace, 
So fair Editha blooms, midst Godwin's race." 

To speak least uncharitably of Edward the Confessor, let us 
condole with him for being Ethelred the Unready's son, the ex- 
ile, and recalled from necessity. He was flattered by Norman 
pimps, and cajoled by designing monks into the silly belief that 
he was God's anointed and had the gift of miracles. However, 
he lived and died with good intentions, except towards his best 
and truest friend, Editha, to whom he never could forgive being 
Godwin's daughter. On his death-bed, A.D. 1066, he might 
have said with Louis XIV. : "Afires moi le Deluge" 

We have seen the origin of the Anglo-Saxon dialect, its prog- 
ress, Alfredan Era, and its Danification ; now Ingulphus, an 
eye-witness, tells us that its most intelligent speakers are ashamed 
of it and fly to a foreign idiom. 

King Harold* falls at Hastings ; William, aided by Rome, tri- 
umphs, A.D. 1066 ; gloom spreads over the land ; the nation is 
sullen. The conqueror is afraid of his own shadow, since his 
own daughter, Agatha, died of attachment to Harold, whose 
bride she was to be. We have all heard of the Curfew f bell and 

* Andrews, in his erudite History of Great Britain, Vol. I., p. 77, con- 
soles England thus concerning the result of the battle of Hastings : " While 
we lament the fate of this gallant usurper and of his brave but undisciplined 
soldiers, we must not forget that by this rough medicine England was purged 
of a detestable aristocracy, composed of noblemen too powerful for the king 
to restrain within the limits of decent obedience, and always ready to employ 
that power against their country, when interest, ambition, or cowardice 
prompted them. This consideration, joined to that of the vast additional 
weight which England gained in the European scale by the Norman disci- 
pline, being joined to the native valor of the islanders, affords ample consola- 
tion for the disgrace of Hastings ; especially, when we recollect that the 
Saxon race remounted the English throne at the end of only four reigns." 

f Curfew : as the spelling and sense of this word has been distorted, it 
deserves correcting and explaining. The spelling was originally " couvre-feu" 
(cover-fire), and the meaning was a signal for families to cover their fire with 
ashes and retire. To give this signal a bell was rung at eight o'clock. In 
those halcyon days, when Argand and camphene lamps and gas were un- 
known, and when the family fire was the principal means of lighting the hut. 



1 82 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

other ordinances, enacted by that suspicious king to protect his 
newly acquired kingdom ; but, as many may not have heard of 
the following measure, contrived to diffuse his influence and 
language, we will quote from the cotemporary Ordericus Vitalis, 
whose history, according to Guizot, contains more valuable in- 
formation on the eleventh and twelfth centuries than any other 
single work : 

" The many castles which William built in the different parts of the island 
must have contributed very much to the propagation of the French language 
among the nation ; as it is probable that the foreigners, of whom the garri- 
sons were entirely composed, would insist upon carrying on all their trans- 
actions with the neighboring country in their own language." — Oi'dericus 
Vitalis, Lib. IV. 

We also read that the fortresses built from William's advent, 
A.D. 1066, to King Stephen's death, A.D. 1154, amounted to 
1,115, scattered all over England; and that they were manned 
by 60,000 Franco-Normans, ever ready to defend themselves 
against the Anglo-Saxon population, numbering 2,000,000. Such 
were the means introduced by William I., to gain influence and 
diffuse his language. As he issued a code in French, we cite a 
part of it to show its tenor and style : 

Extract from William the Conqueror 's French Code, A.D. 1070. 



Ces sont les Leis et les custumes que 
li Reis William grantut a tut le Peu- 
ple de Engleterre, apres le Conquest 
de la Terre. Ice les meismes que le 
Reis Edward sun Cosin tint devant 
lui. 



Hae sunt Leges et Consuetudines 
quasWillielmus Rex concessit universo 
Populo Anglise post subactam Ter* 
ram. Eaedem sunt quas Edwardus 
Rex, cognatus ejus, observavit ante 
eum. 



the inmates were left in the dark, ready for sleep and repose by the covering 
of their fire. This regulation did not originate with William the Conqueror ; 
he only introduced it into England from the Continent, where it had been in 
vogue for several centuries : first, to give people the hour of the night, family 
clocks and watches being unknown ; next, to render them orderly and give 
them sufficient rest for next day's duties. The ringing of a bell at nine o'clock 
was a custom in New England long after the landing of the Pilgrims. The 
nine o'clock gun at military stations has the same meaning. 



Eleventh Century. 183 

De Asylorum jure et immunitate Ecclesiastica. 



Cest a saveir ; Pais a Saint Eglise ; 
de quel forfait que home out fait en 
eel tens ; e il pout venir a Sainte Eg- 
lise ; out pais de vie et de membre, &c. 



Scilicet ; Pax Sanctae Ecclesiae en- 
juscunque Forisfacturae quis reus sit 
hoc tempore ; et venire potest ad 
sanctam Ecclesiam ; Pacem habeat 
vitae et membri, &c. 



Robert Holcoth, Lib. Sapient., C. 2, wrote : 

"When William, Dulce of Normandy, had conquered the kingdom of 
England, he deliberated how he could destroy the Saxon language and har- 
monize England and Normandy in idiom ; and therefore ordered that no one 
should plead in the King's Court, except in French ; and again, that any child 
about to be sent to school should learn French, and through French Latin, 
which two ordinances are observed to this day. " 

My historic reading convinces me that there has been misap- 
prehension or want of proper investigation on the part of histo- 
rians, who describe the invasion and conquest of England A.D. 
1066. They speak of the invaders as Normans, and of their lan- 
guage as Norman or Norman-French, which to me seem misno- 
mers. The 5,000 Britons sent to William by Hoel, Count of 
Brittany, were not Normans ; neither were the many Barons from 
all parts of France and Flanders with their followers ; but they 
all flocked to William's standard, encouraged by Baldwin, Earl 
of Flanders, regent of France, and father-in-law of William, whom 
he accompanied to England. Henry IV., Emperor of Germany, 
not only allowed his vassals to join the expedition, but engaged 
himself to protect William's dominions during his absence. The 
most powerful ally was Pope Alexander II. , who backed the in- 
vasion with all the power of the Church, called Harold a perjured 
usurper, excommunicated him, and sent William relics portending 
victory. These auxiliaries, allies, influences and means were not 
Norman. Yet, while all this European enthusiasm was going on, 
William's own legislature at Lislebonne hesitated to furnish him 
with supplies. Hence the Norman of that event was all in Wil- 
liam ; for if his own subjects were averse to it, it certainly cannot 
be styled Norman. To me and any candid observer that invasion 
must ever look like a European crusade against England, which 
was more due to papal than to Norman, French, or German in- 
fluence. Calling those invaders Normans and their language 
Norman seem to me terms wofully misapplied ; for history 



1 84 



Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 



informs us that about A.D. 911, a band of northern pirates invad- 
ed Neustria during the reign of Charles the Bald and succeeded 
in seizing that province ; that Rollo, their leader, married Charles' 
daughter, Gisela, embraced her religion and adopted her lan- 
guage, manners and customs as far as a barbarian could ; and his 
followers married French women and did likewise. We read 
that the name of William's father was Robert le Diable, and that 
his mother was a French tanner's daughter named Harlette. I 
can see no propriety in calling the host, that left France and the 
rest of Europe to assist William in the invasion of England, Nor- 
mans. His followers from the Dukedom of Normandy were not 
one-tenth of the whole force. Hence, our terms Franco-Norman 
and Franco-English are more appropriate than Norman. 

As there is not only philology, but history to be learned from 
names, let us quote the famous "Roll of Battel Abbeie" or list 
of the leaders who fought under William, and whose names were 
recorded in Battel Abbey, erected by William the Conqueror on 
the battle-field. It is said remains of the Abbey are yet visible 
six miles from Hastings. Our readers may judge how much 
Norse, Scandinavian or Norman is in those names ; only a few 
seem to have a Gotho-Germanic orthography. This Roll is to 
be found in Pettit Andrews : 



THE ROLL OF BATTEL ABBEIE. 



A 


Albevile 


Basset 


Burgh 




Andevile 


Bigot 


Bushby 


Aumarle 


Amourduile 


Bohun 


Banet 


Aincourt 


Arcy 


Bailif 


Blondell 


Audeley 


Akeny 


Bondevile 


Breton 


Adgillam 


Albeny 


Barbason 


Blual 


Argent oune 


Aybevare 


Baskervile 


Baious 


Arundell 


Amay 


Bures 


Browne 


Avenant 


Aspermound 


Bounilaine 


Beke 


Abell 


Asmerenges 


Bois 


Bickard 


Auverne 




Botelere 


Banastre 


Aunwers 


B 


Bourchere 


Baloun 


Angers 


Bertram 


Brabaion 


Beauchamp* 


Angenoun 


Buttecourt 


Berners 


Bray 


Archere 


Brebus 


Baibuf 


Bandy 


Anvay 


Byseg 


Brande 


Bracy 


Aspervile 


Bardolfe 


Bronce 


Boundes 



* The descendants of this Beauchamp assumed the title of Warwick and 
built the famous castle of that name. One of the Warvvicks was styled the 
"King-Maker," A.D. 1470. 



Eleventh Century. 



Bascoun 

Broilem 

Brolevy 

Burnel 

Bellet 

Baudewin 

Beaumont 

Burdon 

Bertevilay 

Bane 

Bussevile 

Blunt 

Beaupere 

Bevill 

Barbvedor 

Brette 

Barrett 

Bonrel 

Bainard 

Bornivale 

Bonett 

Barry 

Brigan 

Bodin 

Betervile 

Bertin 

Berenevile 

Bellewe 

Bevery 

Bubhell 

Boranvile 

Bio we 

Belevers 

Buffard 

Botteler 

Bonveier 

Bottevile 

Bellire 

Bastard 

Bainard 

Brasard 

Beelhelme 

Braine 

Brent 

Braunch 

Belesuz 

Blundeli 

Burdet 

Bagot 

Beauvise 

Belemis 

Beifin 

Bernon 

Boels 

Belefroun 

Brutz 

Barchampe 



Camois 

Camvile 

Chawent 

Chauncy 

Conderai 

Colvile 

Chamberlaine 

Chamburnoun 

Comin 

Columber 

Cribett 

Creuquere 

Corbine 

Corbet t 

Chandos 

Chaworth 

Claremaus 

Clarell 

Chopis 

Chaunduit 

Chantelow 

Chamberay 

Cressy 

Curtenay 

Conestable 

Cholmeley 

Champney 

Chawnos 

Comivile 

Champaine 

Carevile 

Carbon elle 

Charles 

Chereberge 

Chawnes 

Chaumont 

Caperoun 

Cheine 

Curson 

Couille 

Chaiters 

Cheines 

Cateray 

Cherrecourt 

Cammille 

Clerenay 

Curly 

Clinels 

Cuily 

Chaundos 

Courteney 

Clifford 

D 

Denaville 



Dercy 


Fitz-Marmaduke 


Dive 


Flevez 


Dispencere 


Filberd 


Daubeny 


Fitz- Roger 


Daniell 


Favecourt 


Denise 


Ferrers 


Devans 


FitzPhillip 


Davers 


Filiot 


Dodingsels 


Furnivaus 


Darell 


Fitz-Otes 


Delaber 


Fitz-William 


Delapole 


Fitz-Roand 


Delalinde 


Fitz- Pain 


Delaliill 


Fitz-Auger 


Delaware 


Fitz-Aleyn 


Delavache 


Fitz-Rauff 


Dakeny 


Fitz-Browne 


Daunt re 


Fouke 


Desny 


Frevil 


Dabernoune 


Front de Boef 


Damry 


Facunberge 


Daveros 


Fort 


Davonge 


Frisell 


Duilby 


Fitz-Simon 


Delasere 


Fitz-Fouk 


Delahoid 


Filiol 


Durange 


Fhz-Thomas 


Delee 


Fitz-Morice 


Delaund 


Fitz-Hugh 


Delaward 


Fitz-Henrie 


Delaplanch 


Fitz-Waren 


Dam not 


Fitz-Rainold 


Danway 


Flamvile 



Dehense 

Devile 

Disard 

Doiville 

Durant 

Drury 

Dabilot 

Dunsterville 

Dunchampe 

Dambelton 



Estrange 

Estutevile 

Engaine 

Estriels 

Esturney 



Ferreres 
Folville 
Fitz- Water 



Formay 

Fitz-Eustach 

Fitz- Laurence 

Formibaud 

Frisound 

Friere 

Fitz-Robert 

Furnivale 

Fitz- Geffrey 

Fitz -Herbert 

Fitz-Peres 

Fichet 

Fitz-Rewes 

Fitz-Fitz 

Fitz-John 

Fleschampe 



G urn ay 
Gressjy 
Graunson 
Gracy 



1 86 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 



Georges 

Gower 

Gaujy 

Goband 

Gay 

Gaunson 

Golofre 

Gobion 

Grensy 

Graunt 

Greile 

Grevet 

Gurry 

Gurley 

Grammory 

Gernoun 

Grendon 

Gurdon 

Gines 

Grivil 

Grenevile 

Glatevile 

Gurney 

Giffard 

Gouerges 

Gamages 

H 

Hauntenay 

Haunsard 

Hastings 

Han ley 

Haurel 

Husee 

Hercy 

Herioun 

Heme 

Harecourt 

Henoure 

Houell 

Hamelin 

Harewell 

Hardell 

Hakett 

Hamound 

Harcord 



Jarden 

J a y 

Jeniels 
Jerconvise 
Janvile 
Jaspervile 



K 

Kaunt 

Karre 

Karrowe 

Koine 

Kaimarrone 

Kiriell 

Kancey 

Kenelre 



Loveney 

Lacey 

Linnely 

Latomer 

Loveday 

Lovell 

Lemare 

Levetot 

Lucy 

Luny 

Logevile 

Longespes 

Loverace 

Longechampe 

Lascales 

Lacy 

Lovan 

Leded 

Luse 

Loterell 

Loruge 

Longevale 

Loy 

Lorancourt 

Loions 

Limers 

Longepay 

Laumale 

Lane 

Lovetot 

M 

Mohan t 

Mowne 

Mandevile 

Marmilon 

Moribray 

Morvile 

Miriell 

Man! ay 

Malebraunch 

Malemaine 

Mortimere 

Mortimaine 



Muse 

Marteine 

Mountbrother 

Mountsoler 

Malevile 

Malet 

Mounteney 

Monfichet 

Maleherbe 

Mare 

Musegros 

Musard 

Moine 

Montravers 

Marke 

Murres 

Mortivale 

Monchenesy 

Mallory 

Marny 

Mountagu 

Mount ford 

Maule 

Monhermon 

Musett 

Menevile 

Mantevenant 

Manse 

Menpincoy 

Maine 

Mainard 

Morell 

Main ell 

Maleluse 

Memouros 

Morreis 

Moiieian Maine 

Malevere 

Mandut 

Mountmasten 

Mantelet 

Miners 

Mauclerke 

Maunchenell 

Mouet 

Meintenore 

Meletak 

Man vile 

Mangisere 

Maumasin 

Mountlovel 

Maureward 

Monhart 

Meller 

Mountgomerie 

Manlay 

Maulard 



Mainard 

Menere 

Martinast 

*Mare 

Mainwaring 

Matelay 

Malemis 

Maleheire 

Moren 

Melun 

Marceans 

Meiell 

Morton 



N 

Noere 

Nevile 

Newmarch 

Norhet 

Norice 

Newborough 

Neisemet 

Neile 

Normavile 

Noesmarch 

Nermitz 

Nembrutz 



Otevell 

Olibef 

Olifant 

Osenel 

Oisell 

Olifard 

Orinall 

Orioll 



Pigot 

Pery 

Perepount 

Per shale 

Power 

Painell 

Perch e 

Pavey 

Pevrell 

Perot 

Picard 

Pinkenie 

Pomeray 

Pounce 

Pavely 



Eleventh Century. 



187 



Paifrere 


Rougere 


Sent-More 


Verdoune 


Plukenet 


Rait 


Sent-Scudemore 


Valence 


Phuars 


Ripere 




Verdeire 


Punchardoun 


Rigny 


T 


Vavasour 


Pinchard 


Richemound 


Vendore 


Placy 


Rocheford 


Toget 


Verlay 


Pugoy 


Raimond 


Tercy 


Valenger 


Patefine 




Tuchet 


V enables 


Place 


S 


Tracy 


Ven our 


Pampilioun 


Trousbut 


Viland 


Perceley 


Souch 


Trainell 


Verland 


Perere 


Shevile 


Takel 


Valers 


Pekeny 


Seucheus 


Trussel 


Veirny 


Porterell 


Senclere 


Trison 


Vauurvile 


Peukeny 


Sent Quentin 


Talbot 


Veniels 


Peccely 


Sent Mere 


Touny 


Verrere 


Pinell 


Sent Amond 


Traies 


Uschere 


Putrill 


Sent Legere 


Tollemach 


Veffay 


Petivoll 


Somervile 


Tolous 


Vanay 


Preaus 


Siward 


Tanny 


Vian 


Pantolf 


Saunsovere 


Touke 


Vernoys 


Pecto 


Sanford 


Tiblote 


Umal 


Penecord 


Santes 


Turbevile 


Unguet 


Preudirlogast 


Savay 


Turvile 


Urnafull 


Percivale 


Saulay 


Tomy 


Vasderoll 




Sules 


Taverner 


Vaberon 


Q 


Sorell 


Trenchevile 


Valingford 


Somerey 


Trenchelion 


Venicorde 


Quinci 


Sent-John 


Tankervile 


Valive 


Quintiny 


Sent- George 


Tirel 


Viville 




Sent-Les 


Trivet 


Vancorde 


R 


Sesse 


Tolet 


Valanges 


Salvin 


Travers 




Ros 


Say 


Tardevile 




Ridell 


Solers 


Turburvile 


W 


Rivers 


Saulay 


Tinevile 




Rivell 


Sent-Albin 


Torell 


Wardebois 


Rous 


Sent Martin 


Tortechappell 


Ward 


Rushell 


Sourdemale 


Trusbote 


Wane 


Raband 


Seguin 


Treverell 


Wake 


Ronde 


Sent Barbe 


Tenwis 


Wareine 


Ric 


Sent Vite 


Totelles 


Wate 


Rokell 


Souremont 




Watelin 


Risers 


Soreglise 


V 


Watevil 


Randuile 


Sandvile 


Wely 


Roselin 


Sauncey 


Vere 


Werdenell 


Rastoke 


Sirewast 


Vernoun 


Wespaile 


Rinvill 


Sent-Cheveroll 


Vesey 


Wivell 



Englishmen now scattered all over the globe may trace their 
pedigree to some one of these 655 names. The linguistic ap- 
pearance of nine-tenths of them is French, having representatives 
now living in France, England and America; only a very few 
seem to have a Gotho-Germanic orthography. 

According to these historic and linguistic data, I shall call the 



1 88 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

fusion of Anglo-Saxon and French from A.D. 1066 to 1600, 
Franco-English, and the prior fusion in France, Franco-Norman. 
The "Saxon Chronicle" of that date has the following: 

"Thaer wearth ofslaegen Harold Cyng. and Leo/wine eorl. his brothor. 
and Gyrth eorl. his brothor. and fela godra manna, and tha Frencyscan 
ahton wael-stode geweald. ' ' 

tt There were slain Harold the King, and Leofwin the Earle his brother, 
arid Earle Gyrth, his brother, and many good men ; and the French held 
the rule of the slaughter place" 

Here the cotemporary Anglo-Saxon chronicler positively says 
the French held the battle-field, without the slightest allusion to 
Normans. Hence, it would be more according to the real facts 
to drop such terms as Norman invasion, Norman conquest, Nor- 
man-French, &c, and set history right on this subject. 

We read in Warton's History of English Poetry : 

" The French imported by the Conqueror and his people was a confused 
jargon of Teutonic, Gaulish, and vitiated Latin. In this fluctuating state of 
our national speech French predominated." 

Any one who will carefully peruse what we quote from Wil- 
liam's Code, may readily discover. that the French there used is 
no more of a u confused jargon " than any Medieval dialect. As 
far as I can understand the dialects of that period, French seems 
to me purer, more advanced, and clearer than any of its cotem- 
poraries, though it had little or no literature. 

It is said for about a year William tried hard to learn the dialect 
of his new subjects, but did not succeed, which, together with 
the sullenness of the Anglo-Saxons, gave him an aversion to both 
language and people that ridiculed those who favored the inva- 
ders by sayings like this : " Jacke woud be a gentilman if he coud 
bot speke Frenshe."" This spirit galled the Franco-Normans and 
their leader, who issued more and more tyrannic laws. Children 
at school were forbidden to read their native tongue, and were 
only instructed in French. Anglo-Saxon handwriting was so little 
used that about A.D. 109 1, its characters were only known to 
the few. Laws, public acts, and pleadings in court had to be 
done in French. Bishops and abbots were replaced by foreign- 
ers. We read of a worthy Anglo-Saxon bishop, who was removed 
from his see, because he could not speak French. 

While Anglo-Saxon was thus slighted by the invaders of England, 



Eleventh Century. 189 

another Gotho-Germanic tongue, Icela?idic^ became prominent, 
as may be realized by the ancient epic, styled "Edda," which the 
American bard, Longfellow, rendered thus : 

" Give silence, all In early times, 

Ye sacred race, When Ymer lived, 

Both great and small, Was sand, nor sea, 

Of Heimdal sprung : Nor cooling wave 

Vol-father's deeds No earth was found, 

I will relate, 
The ancient tales, 
Which first I learned. 



Nor heaven above, 

One chaos all, 

And nowhere grass," &c. 



So sang our hyperborean Gotho-Germanic ancestors, who were 
soon joined by their kindred, the " Old High Germans" in the 
famous " Nibelungen," numbering thirty-nine "adventures" or 
poems. When the victor of Hastings attempted to substitute 
French for Anglo-Saxon, he little dreamt that he was but the first 
link in a chain that would cause Anglo-Saxon to amalgamate with 
the Greco-Latin idioms and produce present English, which now 
encircles the globe. Could William now return and be king, he 
would find England's language of 1878, with fifty-four per cent. 
French, easier to learn than Anglo-Saxon of 1066 with no French. 

Liber Judiciarius vel Censualis Angliae. 
" Domesday- Book." — Such is the title of two splendid manu- 
script volumes : one a large folio, the other a large quarto. The 
folio contains 382 double pages of vellum, written in a small but 
plain character ; the quarto, 450 double pages of vellum, written 
in a large, fair hand. This colossal work, including a census and 
survey of nearly all the counties of England, A.D. 1086, is the 
literary monu?nent of William the Conqueror, who ordered its 
execution A.D. 1081, by appointing commissioners to examine 
persons under oath as to the state of every county, the number 
and condition of its inhabitants, the extent and nature of its 
lands, woods, mills, and the taxes paid thereon. After intense 
labor all over the realm, the two volumes were laid before his 
Majesty, A.D. 1086, who must have felt more elated than at the 
victory of Hastings, whose stone monument has long since 
crumbled into dust, while the frail intellectual fabric has survived 
all revolutions, and is now in excellent preservation in the Chap- 
ter House at Westminster, where millions have admired and are 



190 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

yet likely to admire it. Here again tl the pen has proved mightier 
than the sword." 

Education and literature must have been at alow ebb in England. 
A.D. 1086; for the Doomsday-Book gives but 243 inhabitant? 
for Oxford. Cambridge and Oxford were burned and plundered f 
first by the Danes, and afterwards by the Franco-Normans. 

The Doomsday-Book shows England divided into 700 chief- 
holdings, 60,215 knights' fees, of which 28,115 were in possession 
of the clergy, who, under the Norman rule, were bound to the 
same military service as the laity. Most of these offices and 
benefices were given to favorites. The Anglo-Saxon dialect was 
entirely confined to the common people, and nothing was written 
in it except the "Saxon Chronicle" which was carried on for a 
short time by a few patriotic monks, styled Chroniclers. Any one 
who considers this state of things, need not wonder that French 
progressed, but that Anglo-Saxon survived. As already stated, to 
obtain an Extract for our Table, we had to resort to the "Saxon 
Chronicle" which was the only Anglo-Saxon writing of this century. 

The population of England, A.D. 1086, was about 2,000,000; 
in 1871, 21,487,688. Query : Is this immense increase of popu- 
lation due to purely physical or to intellectual and moral causes ? 
The cities of William's census, A.D. 1086, would hardly be con- 
sidered villages in 18 71. A few illustrations might prove interest- 
ing and instructive : 



Cities. 


Number of houses, 


Number of houses. 


A.D. 1086. 


A.D. 1871. 


Norwich, 


738 


19,446 


Ipswich, 


538 


9,822 


Exeter, 


315 


6,209 


Southampton, 


84 


9.958 


Bath, 


64 


8,918 


Northampton, 


60 


7,804 



We are told that William received the idea of this census and 
survey from a similar work by Alfred the Great. It is also said, 
that this census was taken to ascertain how much taxation the 
people could be made to pay to the grasping king and his favorites. 
However that may be, it was a great national work for the age 
and circumstances ; and the English may feel proud of it ; for no 
other nation can show anything analogous of that period. Al- 



Eleventh Century. 191 

though written in poor Latin, it furnished to modern times the 
idea of census and surveys. Such a document is the only basis 
of equitable taxation. 

The people called it Doomsday Book ox Domesday-Book, trans- 
lating judiciarius into doom, which is the Anglo-Saxon for judg- 
ment. 

Amid this gloom appeared some brighter points : Robert 
Curthose, son of William the Conqueror, founded the beautiful 
city of New Castle-on-Tyne, A.D. 1078. Richard de Rulos, King 
William's chamberlain, drained marshes and built the town of 
Deeping in Lincolnshire. The banks of the Welland, from quag- 
mires, were changed into gardens and orchards. The French 
monks practised horticulture and cultivated grapes with such 
success that, according to Malmesbury, they made wine nearly 
as good as that of France. 

Let us mention the Anglo-Saxons of that era who wrote poor 
Latin: Ingulphus, from 1030-1109, left us "Historia Croylan- 
densis" full of valuable information ; but some one tried to 
prove that Ingulphus' book is a forgery ! Osbern wrote the 
lives of the ambitious Dunstan and of St. Alphege. To Os- 
bern literature is indebted for the preservation of many valuable 
records, which he saved from the conflagration, that destroyed 
the Cathedral of Canterbury, of which he was precentor, A.D. 
1070. The following witticism, which I found in "Anglia Sacra" 
I cannot help repeating ; it is about as good as anything else 
they wrote in poor Latin during the eleventh century. Wulstan, 
Bishop of Worcester, A.D. 1080, was ridiculed by the Bishop of 
Constance for having his mantle lined with lamb-skin, and was 
urged to have it replaced by the delicate fur of a species of cat, 
then much used for the purpose. " No, my brother," replied the 
Bishop, " I have often heard of the Lamb of God, but I have 
never heard of his Cat." 

Extracts and Tables from Anglo-Saxon Writings of the 
Eleventh Age, showing their Style and the Numeric 
Origin of their Vocabulary : 

At this stage of Anglo-Saxon literature we beg the reader 
to scrutinize with us the popular gloom, causing stagnation, not 
only in the mind, but in the dialect of the nation ; Caedmon had 



192 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

uttered hymns and paraphrases ; King Alfred had developed, not 
only the people's intellect, but its tongue and ear : thoughts, 
ideas, conceptions, vocabulary, and music, had gone hand in hand 
with a king, author, and composer ; Alfric had ennobled his 
native dialect by edifying homilies ; Ethelbert, and several other 
kings, had conceived and issued codes in England's primitive 
idiom ; even the rude foreigner, Canute, showed his predilection 
for Anglo-Saxon, when he proclaimed in it a code of eighty arti- 
cles. Soon a native prince, educated in a strange land, mounted 
the throne of his ancestors, surrounded himself with foreigners, 
ordered Ethelbert's, Alfred's, and Canute's codes to be trans- 
lated into a dead language, in which he himself issued a code for 
a hopeful people. This renegade monarch, by thus slighting the 
national speech, cast a shadow on its fitness and diverted the 
minds of scholars to Latin, in which they produced poetry and 
prose worthy of Virgil and Pliny ; but all to no purpose, for they 
neither arose in, nor went to the popular mind. Unfortunately, 
intriguing monks succeeded in making the masses believe, that 
Edward had the wonderful gift of healing by touch. Thence- 
forth he was considered a heavenly messenger, sent to heal private 
and public woes. Soon he died and was buried like other kings. 
All he had done, and all the priests had said of him, had lost 
much of its charm ; but their time-honored Anglo-Saxon codes, 
language and literature had been reviled by an unpatriotic king, 
as may be realized by the faint elegy written on Edward's death 
in Anglo-Saxon by some anonymous monk. Peruse this feeble 
essay in our Extract and Table ; next read and ponder on our 
Extract from the "Saxon Chronicle" of A.D. 1066, and you 
readily perceive that Caedmon's inspiration, Alfred's pathos, and 
Alfric's style had fled, and that the Anglo-Saxon of 1066 must 
die, unless resuscitated by crossing and recrossing, which made 
the English language what it is in 1878. The English nation was 
without spirit in 1066 ; the language showed it even in its "La- 
mentation" as may be observed in the following Extracts and 
Tables : 



Eleventh Century. 193 



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194 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 



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Eleventh Century. 195 



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196 



Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 



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198 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 



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200 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

Synopsis of the differe?it words from the two preceding Tables 
of the Eleventh Century. 



Greek : 1 f 

, Greco-Latin : 8 

Latin : 7 



Total of the differ- 
I ent words : 178. 



Anglo-Saxon : 1 70 !• Gotho-Germanic : 1 70 

Hence, the style of Anglo-Saxon writing in the 
eleventh century shows a vocabulary of different 
words containing about 

95 per cent. Gotho-Germanic, and 
5 " Greco-Latin. 

Seventy-nine of the 170 different Anglo-Saxon 
words, or forty-six per cent., are now (1878) obso- 
lete. 

Fifteen of the 170 different Anglo-Saxon words, 
or only nine per cent., are now (1878) spelt as they 
were in the eleventh century. 

In this century the Troubadours of France, Minnesanger of 
Germany, and Skalds of Scandinavia, became prominent. They 
did much towards polishing and refining the languages, litera- 
tures, manners, and customs of Medieval Europe, by displaying 
their poetry and music in courts, among the nobles, and in popu- 
lar assemblies. They accompanied the crusaders and florished 
under the name of minstrels from about A.D. 1000 to 1300. 

France (about A.D. 1050) and Spain, 1091, dropped the Gothic 
alphabet and adopted the Roman, which was an improvement in 
the right direction ; for a distinct, clear and easy alphabet is the 
most important linguistic desideratum. In this century appeared 
another improvement that affected the music of the world and 
added new terms to language : A.D. 1024, Guido of Arezzo con- 
trived a method of rendering the intonation of sounds by means 
of six notes distributed upon lines or spaces. To these notes he 
gave the names : ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la, which he took from the 



Eleventh Century. 201 

first syllables of words in this stanza of the hymn sung on the clay 
of St. John the Baptist : 

41 Ut quean t laxis resonare fibris, 
Miva. gestorum famuli tuorum 
Solve, polluti lab'n reatum." 

Beside these notes he placed seven letters : A, B, C, D, E, F, 
G, and because the letter G (gamma) accompanied the note ut, 
that he placed above the ancient method ; the whole arrangement 
was called Gamut, which is but an abbreviation of Gamma ut 
(Gamut), the name it still bears. To complete the ingenious 
monk's invention, Le Maire added a semitone and named it si: 
When we consider, that this simple contrivance belongs to the 
exact sciences and arts, that it has lasted over seven hundred 
years, and that by its means musicians of different countries and 
languages can meet and play extemporaneously, we need not 
despair of adapting a few English vowel-sounds to letters and 
reaching the German rule : et Write as you pronounce, and pro- 
nounce as you write" We may even hope to do it without in- 
creasing the present alphabet. 



TWELFTH CENTURY. 



"Language, like the foliage of the grove, is constantly in a state of change." — Preface 
to Walker's Dictionary, 1842. 



In the last century we alluded to the decline of the Anglo- 
Saxon dialect, and to the tyrannic measures of William the Con- 
queror to compel the people to adopt the French language. 
French was spoken everywhere : at court, among the nobles, in 
parliament, in the army and navy, at the bar in pleadings, in 
schools, colleges and universities, so much so that the sovereign 
knew not the dialect of the people he governed; for Henry II., 
on a journey, being addressed by the yeomanry: '•'■Good olde 
Kynge" asked to have these words interpreted. Under these 
unfavorable circumstances the " Saxon Chronicle," the last Anglo- 
Saxon written organ, was stopped A.D. 1154. To honor that 
venerable record we make its closing paragraph the Extract for 
one of our Tables in this century. 

Anglo-Saxon ceased to be a written language, A.D. 1154, when 
all the intellect of England, as we have shown, expressed itself 
in elegant Latin ; but this was an eccentric and unnatural ten- 
dency, that could only be temporary, because the nation spoke 
Anglo-Saxon and would use no other language. Of course in 
time the 2,000,000 Anglo-Saxons might adapt their idiom to 
some other suitable linguistic element to form a language that 
would suit the governing and the governed. Whither could Eng- 
land look for the elements of the language she required ? To the 
Gothic races in Scandinavia, to the nations of Germany ? Neither 
of these had a language and literature ; they had but just emerged 
from wild and barbarous ideas of Woden, Balder, and Valhalla. 
England could not look to her immediate Celtic neighbors for a 
linguistic element to combine with Anglo-Saxon ; for most of 



204 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

them were obliged to use Latin as their written language ; hence 
the choice lay between Latin and French. As I before stated, 
Latin had been in contact with Anglo-Saxon from A.D. 597 to 
1200, in school, church, and literature, and there seemed little 
prospect of immediate amalgamation. 

Before the grasping Norman element appeared, the Anglo- 
Saxons and Franks had lived on the most amicable terms for six 
centuries, and, according to Bede, they originally understood each 
other's dialect. From the Franks, Ethelbert received Bertha and 
Luidhard with the blessings of Christian civilization, A.D. 597. 
From France, Benedict Biscop brought the elements of literature 
and art, A.D. 675. In France, Egbert learned the science of war 
and government, A.D. 800. To France, Alfred the Great sent for 
teachers, A.D. 880, when the savage Danes had ruined his country 
physically, intellectually, and morally. Anglo-Saxon and French 
princes and princesses had intermarried. The Anglo-Saxons and 
Franks concurred in carrying Christianity and civilization to their 
Gotho-Germanic kindred. Above all, French was the linguistic 
element that would most easily and readily combine with Anglo- 
Saxon, containing, as it did, Greek, Latin, Gotho-Germanic, and 
Celtic. 

As there is in the Extracts and Tables of this century a curious 
linguistic phenomenon, it behooves us to analyze and notice it : 
for the first time during the progress of the Anglo-Saxon language 
an Extract of 362 common words is required to furnish ^a Table 
of 100 different words, showing 262 repetitions and including 187 
particles; similar figures were not reached prior to A.D. 1154. 
When, how, and why did this happen ? It happened when the 
Anglo-Saxon dialect had reached a stage where it could find no 
written expression. How? The people were stunned by the 
blow their nationality and language received at Hastings. Why ? 
The intellectual and moral sense of the two million Anglo-Saxons 
was so shocked that it took time to recover. Trench's saying, 
" Language is a moral barometer, which indicates and perma- 
nently marks the rise or fall of a nation's life," is partly realized; 
for Anglo-Saxon proved a linguistic barometer, that indicated the 
nation's shock without permanently marking its fall. True, the 
people witnessed the decline of their dialect, and apparently 
made efforts to mould it into a simpler, more convenient, more 



Twelfth Century. 205 

practical, and more cosmopolitan form. Thus Swinton's adage : 
" When a tongue becomes petrified the national mind walks out of 
it," applied to Anglo-Saxon. 

Now let us see how the Anglo-Saxons awoke from their stupor, 
and what they did. The national intellect expressed itself in 
Latin superior to any previously written in England ; the Court 
and officials conversed and corresponded in French ; schools, 
colleges and universities resounded with Latin and French ; and 
the people, ever ready to adapt themselves to circumstances and 
bide their time, gradually dropped inflections and other grara- 
matic puerilities, and so seasoned their idiom with French and 
Latin as to attract not only students, authors, and officials, but 
even the Court. 

About A.D. 1 1 15, a rivulet of new words began to flow into 
the English vocabulary from the lectures on civil law, introduced 
and encouraged by Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury. 

At this period the Jews, who had ever kept the lamp of litera- 
ture and science well trimmed, had excellent schools in London, 
York, Lincoln, and in many other cities, in which their learned 
rabbis taught Greek, Latin, Hebrew, mathematics, medicine, &c. 
These institutions were open to both Jewish and Christian chil- 
dren. During the Middle Ages, Abraham's descendants were the 
most erudite linguists, travelers, physicians, and the most eco- 
nomic financiers. They were ever peaceful, sober, law-abiding 
and industrious citizens. Yet these commendable qualities, to- 
gether with their spirit of tolerance, could not protect them 
against the cruel persecutions of A.D. 1190, even after they had 
made rich donations to Richard Coeur de Lion towards his long 
contemplated crusade. Those generous gifts were but a bait for 
their rapacious persecutors. 

As Anglo-Saxon had two million tongues, but no pens to per- 
petuate thought ; and as Latin had no tongues, but powerful pens, 
let us cite some of the authors who wrote Latin worthy of the 
Augustan era: William of Malmesbury left us ".Regalium" Lib. 
V. (History of the English Kings from A.D. 499 to 1147); u His- 
toria Novella" Lib. II. (New History), in which he relates what 
happened in his day, and what he saw ; also u De Gestis Pontifi- 
cum Anglorum" (Acts of the English Pielates). He was Eng- 
land's Livy. Hear what he says of himself : 



206 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

" I presume not to expect the applause of my cotemporaries ; but I hope, 
when favor and malevolence are no more, I shall receive from impartial pos- 
terity the character of an industrious, though not an eloquent historian." 

Giraldus Cambrensis, after studying at the University of Paris 
and earning laurels in civil and canon law, became chaplain to 
Henry II. and preceptor to Prince John. His "Topographia 
Hibernioz " (Topography of Ireland) and " Itinerarium Cambria " 
(Itinerary of Wales) prove Giraldus a geographer of deep research. 
He also left "Historia Vaticinalis" "De Expurgatione Hiber- 
nian" which shows an over-credulous writer. His family name 
was de Barry. He flourished about 1 182. These lines on Henry's 
death and Richard Coeur de lion's accession are a delicate 
compliment to both father and son : 

" Mira cano, sol oecubuit, nox nulla secuta." 

" Vainly the sinking sun alarmed our fears ; 
We've lost his orb, and yet no night appears." 

I should speak of Hoveden ; but as Leland and Selden laud 
his accuracy as a historian, I pass on to Henry of Huntingdon, 
whose Latin Chronicle is less admired than his poetry. Geoffrey 
of Monmouth, Bishop of Asaph, translated, as he says, " a very 
ancient book i?i the British tongue into Latin" entitled it "His- 
toria Britonum" and dedicated it to Robert, Duke of Gloucester, 
about 1 1 40. Next he translated the Prophecies of Merlin, who, 
it is said, lived about A.D. 450, from British into Latin. Also 
"Vita Merlini" in hexameter verse, has been attributed to this 
industrious prelate, whose combined works, in twelve books, are 
published as "Geoffrey of Monmouth's British History" in 
Gales' "Six Old English Chronicles." Those who desire to 
know anything of ancient Britain cannot do better than peruse 
this relic of Celtic thought, customs, manners, and style of writing. 
From A.D. 1154 to 1600 it was a favorite work and a resort for 
dramatic, romantic, and allegoric subjects and personages; 
thence Wace derived his "Brut d'Angleterre" ; Butler his 
"Hudibras" / Spenser his "Merlin" ; Shakespeare his "Cymbe- 
line" &c. Therefore, to appreciate and understand the sources 
of English drama, romance, allegory, and fiction, it will repay 
perusal. We had occasion to quote from- it as early as the sixth 
century, in order to show the hatred of the British clergy against 
the Anglo-Saxons of A.D. 597. 



Twelfth Century. 207 

Ordericus Vitalis, from whom we have quoted, wrote " Eccle- 
siastic History of England and Normandy," which contains valu- 
able information. He died 1141. 

To give variety to our quotations let us turn to Gilbert Foliot, 
Bishop of London, who, according to M. Paris, had an exchange 
of civilities in Latin rhyme with his Satanic majesty about 1125. 
One night, while cogitating, Satan addressed his Reverence thus : 

"O ! Gilberte Foliot ! 
Dum revolvis tot et tot, 
Deus tuus est Astarot." 

" While thus you're revolving on good and on evil, 
This world is your Heaven, your God is the Devil." 

To which the Prelate rejoined : 

" Mentiris daemon ! qui est Deus 
Sabbaoth ; est ille meus." 

" Satan, thou liest ! The God, who evermore 
Both was and is, 'tis he whom I adore." 

Language and literature made a great acquisition, when at the 
opening of this century paper began to be made of linen ragsi 
Hitherto writing materials had been so expensive, that poor 
thinkers could not write. This was probably one of the chief 
causes that writing was almost exclusively confined to priests and 
monks, who could procure writing materials. 

Towards the close of this age appeared an odd writer, usually 
called Orrmin ; but in his Metrical Paraphrase of the Gospels 
and Acts, he observes: "Thiss boc iss nemmnedd i Orrmulum 1 
forthi thaet Orrm itt wrohte" (This book is named Orrmulum, 
because Orrm wrote it.) This capricious monk must have had a 
singular fancy for doubling and multiplying consonants and 
avoiding vowels, as may be perceived by these few words. Per- 
haps he foresaw and tried to prevent the opposite extreme, 
namely, the doubling and multiplying of vowels, as ae, ai, ao, an, 
ay ; ea, ee, ei, eo, eu, ey, eye ; ia, ie ; oa, oe, oi, 00, on, oy ; ua. ue, 
ui, uoy ; ye, yea, yi, you, of which usually but one is pronounced 
while the others are silent, and therefore as useless as Orrmin's 
many consonants. Caedmon's and Alfred's dialect became a real 
burlesque in the hands of such a mongrel Danish and Anglo- 



208 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

Saxon writer. There is hardly one word in ten that does not 
end in some double consonant. Even the particles for, in, on, 
that, with, him, his, &c, we find thus : forr, inn, o?m, thatt, 
withth, hi?nm, hiss, &c. He also doubled middle consonants as : 
bigunnenn, hannd, hunndredd, rihht, &c. for begun, hand, hun- 
dred, riht, &c. Yet this Orrmin fancy, odd as it seems, is less 
puzzling to children and foreigners than the many unpronounced 
vowels that now haunt the English vocabulary, because a double 
consonant, whether middle or final, can have but one and the 
same sound, whereas two or three vowels in immediate succes- 
sion may and do have different sounds in one and the same con- 
nections, and sometimes in one and the same word. When will 
the English-speaking populations harmonize letter with sound 
and sound with letter ? 

One of the most brilliant of the English Latinists of this age 
was Joseph of Exeter (Josephus Iscanus), whom Warton calls 
"The miracle of his age in classic composition." He left an 
epic poem on the Trojan war, and "Antiocheis" on the deeds of 
Coeur de Lion during the crusades. 

Thomas White, A.D. 1150, the most learned of the cardinals 
of his day, wrote a treatise on Scholastic Divinity, which was 
highly appreciated. Let us not omit John of Salisbury, A.D. 
1 180, who wrote u Polyeraticus de Nugis Curialium et Vestigiis 
Philosophorum," a satire on the follies of courtiers. Gervasius 
of Tilbury wrote "Otia Imperialia" Lib. III. (History of the 
Kings of England and France). He says the English nobles 
sent their children to France to be educated, in order to avoid 
their mixing English with their idiom. 

We have thus shown England's Latin lore in the twelfth cen- 
tury, when there was a gap between Anglo-Saxon and Franco- 
English. Henceforth England's intellect will have ample scope 
to express its thought in Franco-English. 

Latin and Anglo-Saxon could not amalgamate, though it had 
been in close contact from A.D. 600 to 1200. A less inflected 
element than Latin was indispensable ; an element with enough 
Latin to satisfy students, and some Gotho-Germanic to attract 
the masses ; that element could only be found in French, which, 
besides Gotho-Germanic, had some Celtic to combine with Welsh 
and Irish under Henry II., A.D. 1188. Bede says the Anglo- 



Twelfth Century. 209 

Saxons and Franks understood each other's dialect. Hence 
French and Anglo-Saxon could and did amalgamate, A.D. 1200. 
As early as the twelfth century England had two authors who 
wrote in French : Walter Mapes, after writing Latin poems that 
caused him to be called A?iacreon of England, produced several 
romances in French. Robert Wace was a distinguished poet ; 
he was born in the Isle of Jersey, studied at Caen, became reader 
to Henry I. and Henry II. In 1160 he wrote ' r< Roman du Rou" 
(Romance of Rollo), and dedicated it to Henry II. Next 
"Chronique des Dues de Nonnandie " (Chronicle of the Dukes 
of Normandy) ; and finally u Le Brut d' Angleterre" (Brutus of 
England), consisting of 15,000 lines. His Romance of Rollo 
and of the Dukes of Normandy is in verse, and is considered a 
valuable historic record of the personages, events, and manners 
of that period. Wace lived at Henry's court, and died 1184. A 
stanza of this early bard may be of interest. 

" Taille fer, qui moult bien chantoit, 
Sur un cheval qui tot alloit, 
Devant eux alloit chantant 
De Karlemagne et de Roland 
Et D' Oliver et des Vassals 
Qui moururent a Roncesvalles." 

Robert Wace obtained the idea of his popular epic poem, u Le 
Brut d'Angleterre" from Geoffrey of Monmouth and Nennius. 
Layamon translated this favorite work into Anglo-Saxon, A.D. 
1205. 

As I have shown the self-sacrificing character of women in 
Clotilda, Bertha, Ethelburga, Anna, &c, I must now mention the 
Welsh heroine, Gwen Llyan, who (as related by Giraldus Cam- 
brinsis), while leading her countrymen against invaders, was taken 
prisoner and beheaded by one Maurice of London, A.D. 1136. 

This murder by Maurice was committed the same year that 
Stephen usurped the throne of England, which of right belonged 
to Matilda. Stephen's act, though less cruel, was as unjust and 
ungallant as Maurice's. 

Were we writing history, we should relate England's deeds 
during the crusades, especially those of Richard Coeur de Lion. 
Those otherwise fruitless expeditions affected the English lan- 
guage, not only by adding military, heraldic, and other gallant 



210 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

terms, but by modifying and softening its vocabulary and code of 
honor. Other European tongues, especially German, were simi- 
larly benefited. Different nations marching, camping, and fighting 
together, began to lose some of their national prejudices ; the 
middle and lower classes, and even nobles, princes, kings, and 
emperors became more or less mixed and acquainted. An inter- 
national feeling of mutual respect sprang up, which tended toward 
concord. Thus the English as well as other idioms gained in 
vocabulary and in general polish ; new devices and mechanisms 
were seen and brought home from the East. The queens, prin- 
cesses, and other ladies, who accompanied the crusaders, gave a 
tone of refinement that has ever since pervaded European idioms 
and manners. The knights were bound by a solemn oath to pro- 
tect the fair sex, and to rescue widows and orphans from oppres- 
sion. 

Behold a voyage in an opposite direction : The Welsh annals 
mention a Prince Madoc, who sailed from North Wales about 
A.D. 1 1 70, discovered a western continent, returned to Wales, 
raised a colony, resailed to the West, and was heard of no more. 
But about 1550, F. Lopez de Gomara went to America to obtain 
documents and information for his " Cronica de la Nueva 
Espana." It is said that, while exploring the New World, Go- 
mara found remains of Madoc's colony. I am aware that claims 
prior to Columban discovery are considered fabulous. I only 
allude to this, because connected with the name of a historian as 
reliable as Gomara. The adventures of that Welsh prince 
furnished to Southey, 1805, the subject of his poem entitled 
" Madoc y 

Alexander Neckham, as one of the Medieval pioneers in natural 
science, deserves posterity's gratitude, especially for "De Naturis 
Rerum" (On the Nature of Things). In this poem the rudi- 
ments of most of the modern sciences are set forth in a pleasing 
style. Behold what Roger Bacon says of its author : " This 
Alexander in many things wrote what was true and useful ; but 
he neither can, nor ought, by just title, to be reckoned among 
authorities." Neckham also produced "De Laudibus Divines 
Sapie?itice." His works have a great value, showing us, as they 
do, the manner of thinking in the twelfth century. He began his 
studies at the then celebrated academy of St. Alban's, and com- 



Twelfth Century. 21 1 

pleted them at the University of Paris. As the following lines 
give us an idea, not only of the author's tender recollections of 
his school years, but of what was taught in the academies of 
England at that period, we give Andrews' version of them. 

" 'Twas here my youth's gay hours stole away, 
And rest, the nights, and science crown'd the day. 
Here taught, I travel'd learning's arduous road, 
And to these walls the fame I've gain'd is ow'd. 
Each art I teach was taught me here before, 
And Scripture-study joined the useful lore, 
The canons too — Galen — Hippocrates; 
Nor did the civil law my taste displease." 

We must for a moment look beyond the language and litera- 
ture of the British Isles, and consider the intellectual and moral 
status of Europe. Spain, whither the Goths, Vandals and Moors 
had penetrated, began to develop noble fruits : The Moors could 
boast of Avenzoar, A.D. 1140, and Averrhoes, 1190, two bril- 
liant intellects, whose scintillations illumined the European ho- 
rizon. Castille could point to " Poema del Cid" the earliest 
poem in the Spanish language, 11 50. It is very remarkable that 
the name of the author never reached posterity. The work 
itself has furnished materials for many noble productions, espe- 
cially Voltaire's chef-d'ceuvre, " Le Cid." 

Navarre had her Jewish Rabbi, Benjamin of Tudela, the first 
and earliest Medieval European geographer and traveler, who, 
from A.D. 1160 to 11 73, visited the synagogues in the Eastern 
Empire, Egypt, Persia, and as far as China, in order to observe their 
manners and ceremonies. His Itinerary in Hebrew was pub- 
lished in Constantinople, translated into Latin by Arius Montanus, 
and into most European idioms. Being the first description of 
those distant countries, it gave rise to marvelous tales. 

About the same period the Spanish Jew, Kharizi, traveled in 
Palestine, Persia, Russia, Germany, France, and left his geo- 
graphic and ethnologic information in a treatise called " Tachke- 
moni. u Thus did the Medieval Jews imitate the example of their 
illustrious ancestors, Abraham and Sarah, who started from 
Chaldee 2000 B.C., visited Mesopotamia, Egypt, and settled in 
Canaan. With them the Empire went westward four thousand 
years ago. 



212 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

With regard to education in England during the twelfth century, 
the Franco-Norman gentry usually sent their sons abroad ; and 
the University of Paris was the favorite seminary ; for there were 
collected the youth of all nations, which caused Paris to be styled 
by the writers of that era u The city of learning." 

Here is a graphic stanza by some German student named Nigel 
Wercker, about the English studying with him at Paris : 

" Et, quia subtiles considerat Anglos, 

Pluribus ex causis se sociavit iis. 
Moribus egregii, vultu verboque venusti, 

Ingenio pollent, consilioque vigent. 
Dona pluunt populis et deteslantur avaros ; 

Fercula multiplicant ; et sine lege bibunt." 

" The students from Britain his fancy must strike; 
Ay ! — these (quoth the stranger) are lads that I like. 
Be these then my mess-mates, stout, jolly and clever; 
With comrades like these I could study forever. 
When they've cash, 'tis soon gone — for they hoard up no treasure, 
And they eat without stint, and they drink without measure." 

Sinding, in his history of Scandinavia, p. in, says : 

" On the whole, neither science nor the aVts had reached a very high point, 
and young people being desirous of a deeper knowledge than they could ac- 
quire at home, had to go to the celebrated University of Paris, and at the 
close of the twelfth century a special college for Danish students was founded 
in Paris. Here, for instance, Absalon, a man of letters himself, favored lit- 
erature and encouraged the renowned Saxo- Grammaticus to compose a history 
of Scandinavia, which he did in elegant Latin, wherefore he was surnamed 
Grammaticus" 

As to education in Germany, hear what Max Miiller says on 
this head : 

" Frenchmen became the tutors of the sons of the German nobility. 
French manners, dresses, dishes, dances were the fashion everywhere. Ger- 
man poets learnt from French poets the subjects of their own romantic com- 
positions. The poetry, which florished at the castles, was soon adopted by 
the lower ranks." 

Thus were Paris, France, and the Franks the educators of 
Europe ; but the Fatherland had her Otho von Freisingen, son 
of Leopold IV., Duke of Austria, and Agnes, daughter of the 



Twelfth Century. 213 

Emperor Henry IV. This prince, bishop, and scholar studied 
and graduated at the University of Paris. He was a most erudite 
writer ; he left a chronicle in seven volumes from the Creation to 
his own time. He also wrote a life of the Emperor Frederick 
Barbarossa. This Early German historian died A.D. 1158. His 
works were written in Latin, as nine-tenths of all books were at 
that period. 

A unique literary monument of filial affection greets us in this 
age : Anna Comnena, A.D. (1083-1148), wrote " Alexiad" a 
biography of her father, Alexis Comnenus, Emperor of Constan- 
tinople. Hear how the world of letters received this production : 
The Fatherland placed it in the '-'Byzantine Collection" which 
contains the gems of Greek literature. The French " Biographie 
Universelle " says : 

" This princess applied herself early to study, without neglecting other 
duties. While courtiers amused themselves, she conversed with the savants 
of the capital and became their rival in writing the life of her father. This 
work, divided into fifteen books, is written with warmth, and its style has 
eclat. She minutely describes the countenance, features, and size of every one 
of her personages. Cousin made an elegant French version of it, which is to 
be found in the fourth volume of the '■Byzantine Collection.'' " 

In 165 1 an edition of it in folio was issued for the Louvre, with 
learned notes by David Hoeschelius. The English biographer 
Wright says : " Anna was esteemed the most learned female of 
her age ; she employed the last ten years of her life composing a 
history of her father's reign." The American biographer Thomas 
calls Anna "a princess of distinguished beauty, talents and learn- 
ing, and her Alexiad (in Greek) a remarkable work and one of 
great historic value, though it is sometimes disfigured by prejudice 
as well as by a pedantic style." She expressed an aversion for 
the princes of the crusades, and called the crusaders a barbarous 
people, unacquainted with the arts, manners, and refinements of 
the East, which was, no doubt, the truth ; she had occasion to 
see and know them at her father's court. At all events, her deline- 
ations of persons and things, being a woman's, are more minute 
and graphic than any man's would have been, and therefore much 
more valuable to posterity. In extenuation of the crusaders' un- 
couthness, which she so vividly describes, a less impulsive his- 



214 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

torian would have added, that it was due to want of opportunities 
to acquire polish. 

Eustathius, Archbishop of Thessalonica, A.D. 1135-1200, pen- 
ned his celebrated Commentaries on Homer, Pindar, and Diony- 
sius Perigetes. Thus a princess and an archbishop addressed 
posterity in the language of Plato. Italy had her Gerard, sur- 
named Cremonensis (A.D. 1114-1187), who was an astronomer 
and orientalist ; he translated seventy-six works from Arabic into 
Latin. As the Arabic idiom was not only rich in poetry, history, 
and geography, but in most sciences, Gerard had a vast field for 
his nimble pen. He, no doubt, transferred into his Latin ver- 
sions many Arabic terms, that have since found their way into 
our modern tongues ; such as : almanack, algebra, alchemy, alco- 
hol, alcove, alkali, azimuth, azure, balco?iy, chemistry, gazel, gi- 
raffe, nadir, scarlet, zest, zenith, &c. Let us remember that the 
twelfth century was a period of translations and compilations 
with scarcely any original writings. Even the strains of the 
troubadours, minnesangers, and skalds, were compilations that 
tended to diffuse classic language and literature ; straying as those 
bards did from castle to castle, from city to city, and from court 
to court, linguistic action and reaction was going on all over 
Europe and Western Asia. 

The scarcity and costliness of books and writing materials still 
continued, although a kind of paper, called u Charta bombycina" 
(sheet silken), was invented in the beginning of this century ; yet 
manufactories and mechanics were far behind the intellectual 
progress. In this era I must mention Abelard, theologian, 
philosopher, mathematician, and poet, who electrified the students 
of Paris by his eloquence and learning. Hallam tells us: "Abe- 
lard was almost the first who awakened mankind, in the age of 
darkness, to a sympathy with intellectual excellence." 

In this century the Petrobrusians, Albigenses, and Waldenses 
under Peter de Bruys, Count Raymond of Toulouse, and Petei 
Waldo, merchant of Lyons, began to protest against clerical 
abuses and pretensions, accusing the priesthood of straying from 
the teachings of Christ and his Apostles. St. Bernard preached 
and wrote against them, charging them with belief in the Man- 
ichean heresy of two co-eternal and co equal principles, perpetu- 
ally counteracting each other, which was considered as the worst 



Twelfth Century. 215 

heresy ever conceived. Consequently, Peter de Bruys was bur?ied 
at the stake in Languedoc, A.D. 1 147. This onJy increased the zeal 
of all concerned in this movement, which involved all Southern 
France. Pope Alexander III. convoked in vain a council at 
Tours, 1 1 63. Innocent III. asked Philip Augustus to extirpate 
those heretics, which this short-sighted monarch attempted in 
vain, for protesting had begun and was repeated by Wickliffe, 
Huss, Jerome of Prague, Luther, Calvin, the Puritans, Quakers, 
&c, and ultimately triumphed. During these religious contro- 
versies, numerous translations of the Bible were made into the 
modern languages, commentaries multiplied, new words were 
coined from Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, dialects and languages 
interchanged and mixed. That sagacious scholar, J. W. Draper, 
in his " Intellectual Development of Europe," p. 369, points to 
the real origin of protestantism, when he says : "In the south of 
France the intellectual insurrection fast took form." Thus the 
leading languages of Western Europe had achieved written ver- 
nacular thought by A.D. 1200; England, A.D. 600; Germany, 
A.D. 800; France, A.D. 900; Scandinavia, A.D. 1000; Spain, 
Portugal, and Italy, A.D. 1200. Modern thought had gradually 
visited those nations, and assumed in their native dialects a 
visible form in law, religion, or poetry. 

We are agreeably surprised to find that Russia, just christian- 
ized through the influence of the Greek princess Anna, had a 
painter named Alimpius, who so distinguished himself in sacred 
art at Kief, that the Russian clergy placed him among their 
saints. Hence, the Moscovites showed artistic progress at an 
early date and may claim a share in Medieval art. 

At this period the Moors of Spain had Thofail, who wrote 
"Hai-el Yokdan" (The Man of Nature), which was translated 
into Latin. Thofail seems to have been the Arabian Darwin of 
the twelfth century. Ibn-el-Awam penned a treatise on agricul- 
ture, which Banquery translated into Spanish. He was the Ara- 
bian Tusser. We must not omit the English monk, Adelard of 
Bath, who, after traveling extensively, wrote " De Natura Rerum" 
(On the Nature of Things), and translated the "Elements of 
Euclid " from Arabian into Latin, when the Greek text was un- 
known to scholars of Western Europe. He lived in the beginning 
of the twelfth century and was one of the earliest Medieval 



216 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

orientalists. Thus did the Benedictine monks render themselves 
useful in England from the day Biscop started their order at 
Jarrow in the seventh century. We all know what a useful 
classic Euclid has been and is now in our schools. As we alluded 
to "Beowulf" and "Edda," which, by way of analogy, have been 
styled Anglo-Saxon Iliad and Icelandic Iliad, we must not omit 
the " Nibelungen" an Old High-German poem, composed of 
thirty-nine "Adventures" of which Prof. Lachmann, Schlegel, 
Grimm, Heine, &c, speak with ecstasy. The heroes of this 
German Iliad are Attila, King of the Huns (A.D. 450), Giinther, 
King of the Bnrgundians, whose capital was Worms on the Rhine, 
and Siegfried, Prince of the Netherlands ; its heroine, Kriemhild, 
Gunther's daughter, who first wedded the noble Siegfried, and 
next Attila, in order to have an occasion to avenge herself upon 
the Burgundians, who murdered Siegfried. This epic of 6,000 
lines is dated to the twelfth century by German critics. We infer 
from the names of its heroes, especially Attila (Etzel), and from 
its style, that parts of it were sung and recited in the Fatherland as 
early as the eighth century, and were only collected and written 
in the twelfth. As one opening and one closing stanza may give, 
the Nibelungen's key-note, we quote from Lettsom's erudite trans- 
lation, which deserves every Gotho-Germanic student's perusal : 

" A dream was dreamt by Kriemhild the virtuous and the gay, 
How a wild young falcon she train'd for many a day, 
Till two fierce eagles tore it ; to her there could not be 
In all the world such sorrow as this perforce to see," &c. 

" The mighty and the noble there lay together dead; 
For this had all the people dole and drearihead. 
The feast of royal Etzel was thus shut up in woe : 
Pain in the steps of pleasure treads ever here below." 

The three Medieval landmarks, Beowulf, Edda, and Nibelun- 
gen, should be made classic among all nations of Gotho-Germanic 
descent. Their divinities, heroes, and heroines might be com- 
pared with those of the ancients and thus be made doubly inter- 
esting to learners. 

Extracts and Tables from Anglo-Saxon writings of the twelfth 
century, showing their style and the numeric origin of their vo- 
cabulary. They are from the "Saxon Chronicle," A.D. 1154, 
and the "Creed" of A.D. 1160. 



Twelfth Century. 217 

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218 Anglo- Sax on Period, A.D. 449-1200. 



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Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 



Extract : 

The Creed of A.D. 11 60. 

" Ic ileue in God the fader almihti scuppende and weldende of heouene and 
of orthe and of alle iscefte. and ich ileue on the helende crist. his enlepi sune. 
ure. lauerd. he is ihaten helende for he moncun helede of than dethliche atter. 
thet the olde deouel blou on adam and on eue and on al heore ofsprinke. swa 
swa thet heore fif-falde mihte hom wes al binumen. thet is hore lust, hore 
loking. hore blawing. hore smelling, heore feling wes aliattret." 



Extract from the Peterborough Chronicle for the year 1 137. 

" Tha the suikes undergaeton that he milde man was and softe and god and 
na iustise ne dide, tha diden hi alle wunder. Hi hadden him manred maked 
and athes suoren. ac he nan treuthe ne heolden. alle hi waeron forsworen. and 
here treothes forloren. for oeuric rice man his castles makede and agaenes him 
heolden and fylden the land ful of castles. Hi suencten suythe tha uurecce 
men of the land mid castelweorces. Tha the castles uuaren maked. tha fylden 
hi mid deoules and yvele men. Tha namen hi tha men the hi wenden that 
ani god hefden. bathe be nihtes and be dseies. carlmen and wimmen. and 
diden-heom in prisun efter gold and sylver. and pined heom untellendice 
pining, for ne uuaeren nseure nan martyrs swa pined alse hi waeron. Me 
henged up bi the fet and smoked heom mid ful smoke, me henged bi the 
thumbes. other bi the hefed. and hengen bryniges on her fet. Me dide 
cnotted." 

244 common words, among which 



The 






occurs 


12 times. 


have, 


aux. occurs 


1 


times. 


a 






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« 1 


shall, 


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tt 


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a 


will, 


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tt 





a 


may, 


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from 






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2d 


per. 
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a 
a 




other particles, 


95 

25 




be, an 


3d 

X. 


tt 


tt 
it 


33 
6 


tt 

it 






120 


particles. 



Hence, the style of the twelfth century required about 244 common words 
to furnish 100 different words, and averaged about 49 per cent, particles and 

fifty-nine per cent, repetitions. 



Twelfth Century. 



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222 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

Synopsis of the different words from the two preceding Tables 
of the Twelfth Century, 

Greek : 1 ) ^ 

1 I 



Latin : 9 I Greco-Latin : 2 1 | Total of the differ ent 

Trench : 11 \ v 

{ words : 181. 

Anglo-Saxon: 160 [• Gotho-Germanic : 160 

Hence, the Anglo-Saxon style of writing in the 
twelfth century shows a vocabulary of different 
words containing about 
88 per cent. Gotho-Germanic, and 
12 " Greco-Latin (including 5 per cent. 

French). 

Thirty-four of the 160 different Anglo-Saxon 
words (twenty-one per cent.) are now (1878) ob- 
solete. 

Only twenty-four of the 160 different Anglo- 
Saxon words (fifteen per cent.) are now spelt as 
they were prior to A.D. 1200. 

Ultimate Result of the Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449- 

1200. 

We gave synopses for the seven centuries of the 
Anglo-Saxon Period ; but each of these synopses 
only shows the origin of the vocabulary for one 
century ; now, to get at the figures, that will furnish 
the origin of the Anglo-Saxon dialect, we must drop 
from the fourteen Tables of the Ano-lo-Saxon Period 
all repeated words like the, of, to, and, it, &c, which 
occur in every one of the fourteen Tables, together 
with other repetitions, so as to reach only the ulti- 
mate different words, from which we can determine 
the orip-in of the Anglo-Saxon dialect : 



Twelfth Century. 223 



Anglo-Saxon words : 668 y Gotho-Germanic : 66S 



Greek " 3 

Latin " 45 \- Greco-Latin : 62 }- 

French " 14 

Hebrew " 1 !• Semitic : 



Total of the 
ultimate dif- 
ferent words: 
73 1 - 



Hence, the Anglo-Saxon dialect numbers 
91 per cent. Gotho-Germanic, all Anglo-Saxon; 
8 Greco-Latin, including two per cent. 

French, and traces of Semitic, which 
came into Anglo-Saxon through the 
Bible. 
For later comparison we desire readers to re- 
member : 

1. That only 64 (nine per cent.) of the above 731 
ultimate different words are now (1878) spelt as 
they were before A.D. 1200. 

2. That 6 (nine per cent.) of the above 62 ulti- 
mate different Greco-Latin words are now obsolete, 
while 360 of the above 668 ultimate different Anglo- 
Saxon words (fifty-four per cent.) are now (1878) 
obsolete. Yet Sharon Turner tells us in his " His- 
tory of the Anglo-Saxons " : 

" Perhaps we shall be near the truth, if we say, as a general 
principle, that one-fifth of the Anglo-Saxon language has ceased 
to be used in modern English." As shown above, fifty-four per 
cent., or more than one-half of the A. S. words, are obsolete ; yet 
this erroneous assertion has been repeated for fifty years by many 
Anglo-Saxon and Teutonic investigators. We need not show 
how Sharon Turner arrived at his so-called " general pri?iciple" 
when Geo. P. Marsh declares, that " the conclusions given by 
Sharon Turner are entitled to no confidence whatever." Oli- 
phant, in his "Sources of Standard English," 1873, p. 216, speak- 
ing of Marsh's method of investigating the English vocabulary, 



224 



Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 



says : " Substantives, adjectives, adverbs, and verbs, I call weighty 
words ; they may alter, while the other parts of speech hardly 
change at all. I cannot see the use of counting, as Marsli does, 
every of, the and him, in order to find out the proportion of 
home-born English in different authors." Yet this candid author, 
while censuring Marsh's method, which had been Sharon Tur- 
ner's, tells us, p. 240 : " It was once my lot to treat of a Code of 
Law ; I find, on looking over my book, that at least one-half of 
my substantives, adjectives, adverbs, and verbs dealing with this 
subject, are of Latin birth ; so impossible is it for the most earnest 
Teuton to shake off the trammels laid on England in the thir- 
teenth century." Were it not for these trammels the English 
idiom would not now be the essence of what language has noblest 
and most sublime ; for the erudite Bosw.orth, in the preface to his 
"Anglo-Saxon and English Dictionary," 1855, says: "23,000 
words are of Anglo-Saxon origin." Our strict analysis shows, that 
fifty-four per cent, of these, or 12,420, are now obsolete, so that 
the English tongue now contains but about 10.580 Anglo-Saxon 
words ; and if it numbers 90,000 words, — as stated in Noah Web- 
ster's Dictionary of 1861, — 79,420 are "foreign born" (Greco- 
Latin), without which, what would the English language be? It 
is difficult to understand how Sharon Turner's " one-fifth " could 
find favor with linguists, who, while reading, must daily see over 
one-half Greco-Latin on every page they peruse. 

Gradual Accessions to the Anglo-Saxon Dialect from the close of the Sixth 
Century to the close of the Twelfth : 



King Ethelbert's Anglo-Saxon Code (A.D. 597) 
From A-D. 600 to 700 

" " 700 to 800 

" " 800 to goo 

" " oco to 1000 

" " 1000 to 1 100 

" " 1 100 to 1200 



GRECO- 
LATIN 


CELTIC : 


Semitic : 


6 per cent. 
6 






14 " 
6 






4 




Traces 


5 






12 " 







94 per cent. 
94 



To behold and study the dawn of the English language and 
literature must ever prove highly interesting to every individual 
of the ninety English-speaking millions, whether he breathes the 
air of Britain, America, Asia, Africa, Australia, or New Zealand. 
The eighty-nine articles of King Ethelbert's Code (A.D. 597) in 
the vernacular, with its Latin translation (A.D. 1050), are a rich 



Twelfth Century. 225 

treat, not only for the philologist and historian, but for the eth- 
nologist and philosopher ; because in that code is to be found 
the germ of the Anglo-Saxon language and literature : in it are 
mentioned manners, customs and traits of character, that clearly 
show the social status of that early period ; vices and crimes are 
named and fines imposed, that indicate the moral condition of 
the people ; even the chopping off fingers is enumerated, among 
the national crimes. A fine of six shillings for cutting off the 
gold-finger proves, that the Anglo-Saxons wore gold rings prior 
to A.D. 597. The fines are expressed in Roman numbers, which 
shows that they adopted the Roman figures A.D. 597. 

Thus may the student trace ethnologic data from primitive 
writings. No doubt, the forming of the Anglo-Saxon alphabet, 
the thinking over, contriving and writing that code was a solemn 
and imposing occasion among the descendants of the Jutes in 
Kent. Strange, no English historian, ethnologist, or philologist has 
taken that curious document as his initial theme. Rapin alludes 
to it more than any historian we read. The florid Macaulay 
calls the early part of Anglo-Saxon history "mythical? The 
erudite P. Andrews, in his " History of Great Britain," tells us : 

" The seven insignificant monarchies scarcely produced a man of letters, a 
statesman, a soldier, or a rational divine, and deserves little notice from the 
historian, who hastens to commemorate, in the accession of the great Egbert, 
the true commencement of English history." 

Yet Caedmon, who was the Anglo-Saxon Homer, sang his 
Paraphrase on the Bible to the inmates of Whitby a century 
before Egbert, and his hearers transmitted it to posterity ; and as 
previously stated, he was the tersest and most impressive of the 
Anglo-Saxon authors. Bede, who wrote his Ecclesiastic History 
seventy years before Egbert, has ever been considered one of the 
eminent Medieval divines ; true, he wrote in Latin. Any one, 
who will peruse the numerous writings, moral essays and trans- 
lations of Alfred the Great (A.D. 890), will find in them a mine 
of wisdom and statesmanship. Alfric's "Homilies" (A.D. 1000) 
contain rich moral and historic instruction. To read the simple 
and unvarnished events, as related year after year in the " Saxon 
Chronicle" from A.D. 449 to 1154, will ever be interesting, not 
only to the scholar, but to all lovers of real history. Such poems 
as the "Battle of Brunanburgh" and "Threnody " on the Death 
15 



226 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

of Edward the Confessor, A.D. 1066, are characteristic of their 
day, and deserve the attention of those who wish to know the 
real progress of the English intellect. No Oxford, Cambridge, 
Columbia, or Yale diploma should be given to a student ignorant 
of Anglo-Saxon literature, which antedates all Medieval litera- 
tures : for neither France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, nor Germany 
can show anything in their vernacular dialects at that early period. 
Even students of high schools should be taught an epitome there- 
of. Every English speaker may justly feel proud of the most 
ancient Medieval literary progress. 

It seems strange no Celtic found its way into Anglo-Saxon to 
A.D. 1200 ; for the Celts had been conquered by the Jutes, 
Saxons, and Angles, and were their northern and western neigh- 
bors from A.D. 449 to 1200. The mutual hatred between the 
two races hardly accounts for this linguistic anomaly ; there must 
be some hidden unaffinity between the Gotho-Germanic and 
Celtic dialects. The Franco-Norman and Anglo-Saxon admix- 
ture became the means of cementing the Celto-British and Anglo- 
Saxon races and tongues during the Franco-English period from 
A.D. 1200 to 1600. No doubt, the Celtic element that went 
from France with William the Conqueror, especially the 5,000 
auxiliaries from Brittany, became a link between the Anglo- 
Saxons and Celts of the British Isles. Traces of Hebrew or 
Semitic found their way into the native dialect during this period, 
which ca,me through the Bible. As the first Hebrew word in the 
Anglo-Saxon tongue was " alleluiah" a term of praise and joy, it 
must be considered a good omen. 

Ultimate numeric Result of the Fourteen Extracts from Authors of the 
Anglo-Saxon Period, showing the style of writing from A.D. 597 to 1200 : 

NUMBER OF WORDS 

AUTHORS : WORDS IN EACH OF INHERENT PARTICLES : 

EXTRACT : MEANING l 

Ethelbert's Code, 6th Century 292 including 208 84 (30 per cent ) 

99 36 (27 



Caedmon, 7th 135 

Lothair and Edric's Code, 7th 242 

Saxon Chronicle, 7th 237 

Ina's Code, 8th 265 

Saxon Chronicle, 8th 261 

Saxon Chronicle, 9th 298 

Alfred's Code, 9th 284 

Saxon Chronicle, 10th 122 

Alfric, 10th 254 

Threnody, nth 167 

Saxon Chronicle, nth 228 

Saxon Chronicle, 12th 362 

Prayers, 12th 244 



134 108 (44 

131 106 (44 

152 113 (43 

158 103 (40 

152 146 (49 

138 146 (51 

94 28 (23 

130 124 (50 

128 39 (23 

142 86 (39 

175 187 (52 

124 120 (49 



3391 1965 1426 



Twelfth Century. 227 

For later comparison we desire readers to remember : 

1. That the 14 Extracts from the prominent authors and writings 
of the Anglo-Saxon period aggregate 3,391 words, averaging 242 
words for each of the 14 Extracts. 

2. That the 14 Extracts, numbering 3,391 words, contain but 
731 (22 per cent.) ultimate different words, leaving 2,660 (78 per 
cent.) ultimate repetitions. 

This age witnessed the first real expanse of England's language, 
which was brought about by these circumstances : Henry II., 
rather discouraged by his fruitless wars in France, conceived the 
invasion of Ireland. He communicated his design to his country- 
man and friend, Adrian IV. (Nicholas Breakspeare), the only 
native of England ever raised to the papal chair. Adrian, de- 
sirous to aid his country, and seeing in that movement a chance 
to increase papal influence and swell the ecclesiastic revenue by 
a Peter Pence from Hibernia, encouraged the grasping Plantage- 
net. Soon fortuitous events furnished the English monarch a 
specious pretext for invasion. According to Lord Lyttelton's 
" Irish Annals," Dermot Macmorrogh, King of Leinster, had 
carried off by force the fair Devoirgoil, wife of O'Rourke, ruler 
of Breffney, which produced a war between the Irish princes, as 
did Helen's elopement between Greece and Tro)\ To redress 
this wrong English nobles aided Dermot. Henry intervened, 
became mediator, and ultimately succeeded (A.D. 1169) in ap- 
propriating the Emerald Isle, where the census of 1871 showed, 
in a population of 5,412,377, only 103,562 (two per cent.) per- 
sons who could not speak English. The census of 1861 men- 
tions 163,275 individuals unable to speak English; whereas the 
statistics of 185 1 show, in a population of 6,552,386, about 
319,602 (five per cent.) persons that could not speak English. 
Thus, from 185 1 to 1871, or within twenty years, the non-Eng- 
lish-speaking population in Ireland diminished from five to two 
per cent. This small percentage will soon vanish before steam, 
telegraph, cable, and other improvements that speed travel and 
intercourse. The Cornish dialect died, A.D. 1778, with Doro- 
thea Pentreath, the last person that could speak it ; who will be 
the last speaker of Irish is to be seen ; already the Irish in 
Europe and America form societies to preserve their ancient 
native tongue. Though Ireland had no opportunity to show to 



228 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

the world a progressed language and literature, she may ever 
point with pride to Goldsmith, Swift, Usher, Burke, Sheridan, 
Moore, Knowles, &c., among England's intellectual grandees. 

Archeologists claim that the earliest writing in Irish, called 
"Saltair of Tara" was composed by Cormac Mac Airt, King of 
Ireland from A.D. 227 to 266; that it was a commentary on 
the laws and usages of Ireland, and that only the title and small 
fragments thereof now remain. At the Royal Irish Academy of 
Dublin is a well preserved MS. containing a collection of heroic 
tales, sermons, &c, called "Leabhar nah-Uidhci" which is said 
to have been copied by Moelmuiri mac Ceileachair about A.D. 
1 100, from an older MS. It is thought the original was written 
in the sixth century by St. Ciaran, Abbot of Cluain-mac-Nois. 
As previously stated, this document, if authentic, would rank in 
date with King Ethelbert's Anglo-Saxon Code, A.D. 597. As 
Eugene O'Curry has published an exhaustive work "On the 
Manuscript Materials of Ancient Irish History," we refer readers 
to it. It seems the first printing done in Ireland dates to about 
A.D. 1560. We are told the Irish alphabet numbers eighteen 
letters, which resemble the Roman uncials ; but it is claimed 
Ireland had writing before our era (?), all of which proves that the 
British Isles were an early intellectual center, as may be inferred 
from what we previously said of the early missionaries, Columba, 
Gall, Columban, Wilbrord, Winfrid, &c, who went from Eng- 
land and Ireland to other countries to preach Christianity and 
civilization. 

After searching the origin and progress of the purely intellectual 
pursuits — language, literature and science — some allusion to the 
dress, arts, mechanics, and amusements of the Anglo-Saxons 
may be of interest ; because they influence language, literature 
and science. Paulus Diaconus, who, towards the close of the 
eighth century, wrote a history of the Lombards, describes a pic- 
ture of the sixth century, which he saw in the palace of Theode- 
linda, Queen of the Lombards. He was told that it was painted 
by Theodelinda's orders, and represented the Lombards on some 
excursion. Diaconus says their costume was the same as that of 
the Anglo-Saxons. The description of Diaconus agrees with one 
Eginhart gives of Charlemagne's costume, so that the above 
Saxon attire was common to the Lombards, Franks and Anglo- 



Twelfth Century. 



229 



Saxons. We previously found that the dialects of the Franks 
and Anglo-Saxons were similar ; now we find that their costume 
and that of the Lombards were the same ; hence we infer that 
the Anglo-Saxons, Franks and Lombards differed in name, but 
pointed to a common ancestry and mother tongue. These gar- 
ments were made of linen or woollen, according to the season, 
cotton being then unknown in Europe. Behold some of the 
names of garments compared with other dialects : 



English. 
Anglo-Saxon 

German 

Greek 

Latin 

French 

Italian 

Spanish 

Welsh 



mantle or cloak 


tunic 


breeches 


sock 


shoe 


maentel 


roc 


braec 


socc 


sceo 


mantel 


rock 




socke 


schuh 


fiavOvs 






aaicKos 






tunica 


braccae 


soccus 




manteau 


tunique 


braies 


socque 


Soulier 


man to 




brace 


socco 




manto 




bragas 


zoco 




mantell 




brycan 







hose 
hose 
hose 



chausse 
hos 



This shows that there were modes which traveled from Italy to 
France and England, and that Queen Theodelinda aud Charle- 
magne set the fashions in those primitive Medieval times. The 
Council of Cealchyth, A.U. 787, fulminated this rebuke against 
the fashion of that day : " You dress like the pagans, whom your 
ancestors exterminated. It is surprising you imitate those you 
ever hated." Going barefooted was a punishable offence among 
the Anglo-Saxons. This was, no doubt, more a hygeian than a 
moral measure. Such laws and customs are wise, because calcu- 
lated to insure the health of the people, and especially that of the 
growing generation. 

It is surprising to see the perfection to which the monks and 
copyists of the Anglo-Saxon period brought the art of penman- 
ship, as may he noticed by the specimens of King Athelstan's 
Bible version about A.D. 938, and of "Doomsday-Book," A.D. 
1086; also the numerous MSS. now preserved in Ireland. That 
kind of industry and skill were the only means by which the in- 
tellectual treasures could be transmitted to coming generations ; 
hence our gratitude to those diligent pens should ever be tender 
and warm. Where would Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Gothic, Anglo- 
Saxon lore have been without those pliable and almost intelligent 
fingers ? 

Agriculture and gardening were ever in high repute among the 
Anglo-Saxons and English ; so were fishing, hunting, and all the 



230 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

arts that supply the necessaries and primary comforts of life ; 
even nobles, abbots, and priests attended to gardening as a pas- 
time. Church music and the harp ranked as the highest accom- 
plishments among the Anglo-Saxons, so much so that kings and 
bishops prided themselves on being superior vocalists and harpists. 
The Anglo-Saxon houses consisted of wooden frames covered 
and cemented with clay; bricks were only used as ornaments. 
The first stone structures were erected towards the close of the 
eleventh century ; and for them the stone was brought from Nor- 
mandy. Glass windows were considered as a luxury in private 
houses, and were almost entirely confined to churches and cath- 
edrals : all of which indicates, that architecture was not in high 
favor with the Anglo-Saxons. Yet specimens of Anglo-Saxon 
ships exhibit considerable advance in naval architecture. It 
seems painting and sculpture did not florish among the Anglo- 
Saxons, who were content with some image or statue of their 
patron saint in their churches. The ornamentations in the 
Church of St. John at Beverly and the paintings in the Cathedral 
of Canterbury are mentioned as the finest specimens of sculpture 
and painting during the Anglo-Saxon period. Although the 
Anglo-Saxons did not shine in architecture, painting and sculp- 
ture, they so excelled in setting precious stones in gold and silver 
that their jewelry was styled " opera Ajiglica " throughout Europe. 
King Alfred's jewel, found at Ethelingay, and St. Cuthbert's 
golden cross, are precious relics of that early delicate Anglo- 
Saxon workmanship. William of Malmesbury tells us, that the 
monks were most skilled artists in this department of industry. 

In the sixth century we alluded to music as tending to soften 
the manners and tune the character of a people ; in the ninth we 
mentioned Alfred the Great charming the hostile Danes as 
David of old did King Saul, and how fashionable the harp became 
in England. About A.D. 1160, a Scotch abbot, named Ailred, 
wrote the following burlesque : 

" Since all types and figures are now ceased, why so many organs and cym- 
bals in our churches? Why, I say, that terrible blowing of bellows which 
rather imitates noise of thunder than the sweet harmony of the voice ?" 

Next he thus expatiates on vocal music : 

" One restrains his breath, another breaks his breath, and a third unac- 



Twelfth Century. 231 

countabiy dilates his voice. Sometimes (I blush to say it) they fall and quiver 
like the neighing of horses ; at other times they look like persons in the agonies 
of death ; their eyes roll ; their shoulders are moved upwards and downwards ; 
and their fingers dance to every note." 

Even this intended satire proves, that Orpheus' art was popular 
in England in the twelfth century, and that the changing Anglo- 
Saxon dialect had the elements of a musical vocabulary, ready 
for the Franco-English idiom. Gui d'Arezzo's gamut (A.D. 
1022) did much for the melodious art; but Mozarts and Bellinis 
were needed to perfect it. 

Popular education was little attended to during the Anglo- 
Saxon period (A.D. 449-1200), owing to constant warfare, first 
with the Britons, A.D. 455 ; next with the Danes, A.D. 789 ; and 
then with the Franco-Normans, A.D. 1066, who gradually con- 
quered the British Isles and amalgamated with the Anglo-Saxons 
and Celts. The backwardness in the exact and natural sciences, 
mathematics, astronomy, geography, botany, medicine, &c, was 
due to the same cause. At first the healing art was practised by 
nurses and old women, whose principal remedies were magic, 
charms, and herb decoctions. Soon the priesthood monopolized 
medicine, and resorted to domestic appliances, holy water, and 
other superstitions. Thus war, and want of proper medical, sur- 
gical, and hygienic means, kept the population at the low figure 
of about two millions under William the Conqueror, A.D. 1086; 
whereas, now, about twenty-two millions live and thrive where 
there were then but two millions. However, as far as education, 
literature, and science were concerned, the Anglo-Saxons were 
in advance of the other Gotho-Germanic races in France, Italy, 
Spain, Germany, and Scandinavia; for they had a vernacular 
literature before any of their Gotho-Germanic cotemporaries on 
the continent. Popular education, art, and science, are sensitive 
growths ; peace, quiet, and mental serenity are to them what 
the genial rays of the sun are to vernal germination, budding and 
flowering. Oxford and Cambridge have ever been centers of 
education. Imagine how many Anglo-Saxons and Englishmen 
look to Oxford or Cambridge as Alma Mater. Will as many 
Americans look to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, as Almae Matres a 
thousand years hence ? If so, all the occupants of this planet 
will speak English. 



232 Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 449-1200. 

Throughout this period of seven centuries we endeavored, as 
far as we could, to trace the utterance and writing of Anglo-Saxon 
thought in the domestic circle, social intercourse, and national 
development, of which the Anglo-Saxon alphabet, Pope Gregory's 
letters to Ethelbert and Bertha, Biscop's intellectual treasures 
carried from Italy and France to Britain, Hilda's fostering care 
of Caedmon's genius, Bede's life and works, Wilbrord, Ina's col- 
lege at Rome, Egbert's statesmanship obtained at Charlemagne's 
court, the " Saxon Chronicle," Alfred's " Philosophic Address to 
the Deity," and Ethelwerd's edifying letter to Matilda, are but 
different phases of linguistic and literary progress. We shunned 
intrigues, feuds, wars, and battles, usually resorted to and de- 
scribed by historians and critics ; because we ever considered 
them as mere surfacial ripples and froth of temporary efferves- 
cence, while the national blood circulates in the arteries and 
veins of mothers, sisters, children, and non-combatants, who edu- 
cate, and take care of, what is left after the slaughter and de- 
vastation by 'the few disposed and destined to fight. Our tame 
account of the inner life, thought, language, and literature of the 
ancestors of the English-speaking populations may seem novel 
and strange ; yet we feel sure it will interest the thinking, for 
they will realize that English education is incomplete without 
some knowledge of their ancestors' first steps in civilization, lit- 
erature, art, and science. These steps can best be traced in 
the Anglo-Saxon language, which (A.D. 1200) numbered about 
23,000 words, of which ninety-one per cent, were Gotho-Ger- 
manic, eight per cent. Greco-Latin, and traces of Semitic. 



FRANCO-ENGLISH PERIOD, A.D. 1200-1600. 



THIRTEENTH -CENTURY. 



"To study a people's language will be to study thetn, and to study them at best advantage, 
where they present themselves under the fewest disguises, most nearly as they are." — Trench. 

This century witnessed four dawnings of modern progress : 
first, the dawn of the English language, composed of Gotho-Ger- 
manic, Greco-Latin, and Celtic elements under Franco-Norman 
rule, striving to unite the different populations, as foreshadowed 
by the conquest of Ireland under Henry II. The burlesque on 
the Anglo-Saxon dialect, by such men as Orrmin, had darkened 
England's linguistic horizon, and there was danger that over-zeal- 
ous monks might so disfigure the people's idiom as to render it 
unfit for amalgamation, and thus deprive the coming national 
language of the primitive monosyllabic Anglo-Saxon words, now 
so prominent in English. 

Our Extracts and Tables of this century show how this danger 
was averted, and when the fusion that produced the English 
tongue began, and how it progressed. It had somewhat advanced 
when Henry III. mounted the throne, 12 16, but not sufficiently 
to find its way to the court, bar, or university, where French 
and Latin still prevailed ; however, the Church, popular authors, 
and the masses were forming a language, that was calculated to 
force its way even to the throne. 

The second dawning of modern progress was experimejital sci- 
ence, ushered in by a Franciscan monk. England may ever feel 
proud of having given birth to Roger Bacon, versed in Latin, 
Greek, and Hebrew ; an astronomer, naturalist, mechanist, and 
theologian, as may be seen by his works : " Opus Majus" com- 
posed of eighty Essays ; "Thesaurus Chymicus" and " Epistola 
de Secretis Operibus Naturae et Artis, et de Nullitate Magiae" 



234 Franco- English Period \ A.D. 1200- 1600. 

This inquisitive monk studied in Oxford and Paris, where he 
plunged with ardor into all the sciences known in his day. He 
proposed to Pope Innocent IV. the reform of the calendar, 1267, 
which immortalized Pope Gregory XIII., 1577. To Roger 
Bacon the Medieval world is indebted for the first idea of magni- 
fying glasses,* camera obscura, air-pimp, and gunpowder. What 
a boon glasses have proved to astronomy and optics, to say 
nothing of aged workers, students, and authors ! Imagine our 
reading and writing world after the age of fifty deprived of glasses, 
and conceive what literature, science, and art would lose ; for the 
most valuable works are produced after that age. This discovery 
alone was enough to immortalize Roger Bacon. But, because his 
teachings transcended the knowledge of his time, they excited 
wonder and envy ; his admirers styled him " The Wonderful Doc- 
tor" and his enviers called him "a magician." Therefore his 
lectures were interdicted, and he was confined in a Franciscan 
dungeon in Paris for ten years, till he could convince the Pope 
and his brother monks that he had no converse with Satan. Dr. 
Freind, in his able "History of Physic," speaks thus of this martyr 
to science : 

*' His are wounderful discoveries for a man to make in so ignorant an age, 
who had no master to teach, but struck it all out of his own brain ; but it is 
yet more wonderful that such discoveries should be so long concealed, till in 
the succeeding centuries other people should start up and lay claim to these 
very inventions to which Bacon alone had a right." 

Hallam says : 

" The resemblance between Roger Bacon and his namesake is very remark- 
able. Whether Lord Bacon ever read the ( Oj>us Majus,' I know not ; but 
it is singular that his favorite quaint expression prcerogativae j- Scientiarum 
should be found in that work. And whoever reads the sixth part of the 
' Opus Majus f upon experimental science, must be struck by it as the proto- 
type in spirit of the ''Novum Organum.' " 



* We are told lenses and glasses have been found in the ruins of Babylon 
and Herculaneum and Pompeii. Greek and Roman authors mention glasses 
as aids to sight and for optical purposes. Even conceding that, it does not 
follow that Roger Bacon could not have rediscovered the lost art and suggested 
its use to his benighted cotemporaries. 

f Hence the English and French word prerogative dates to 1265. 



Thirteenth Century. 235 

In connection with this distinguished monk I cannot help 
mentioning his patron and friend, Grosse-teste (Great Head), 
Bishop of Lincoln, author of " Compendium Splierae Mimdi" and 
other scientific essays. The most useful work of this learned 
bishop was his translation of Suidas' Lexicon into Latin, which 
gave to students of Western Europe the key to Greek literature, 
science, and art. As our readers may be amused at the inter- 
change of civilities between the Pope and Grosse-teste, we give 
it as related by Matthew Paris : 

" Innocent IV. appointed an infant nephew of his to a living in the diocese 
of Lincoln, to which Grosse-teste objected in a letter couched in such explicit 
language, that his Holiness called him ' an old, doting, deaf idiot, who dared 
to disobey the commands of that person, to whom his master, the King of 
England, was no better than a slave.'" 

However, the Hierarch grew meeker and more Christ-like, 
when his Cardinals suggested that "by his vehemence he might 
hasten the separation which must some time take place." Soon 
the Bishop of Lincoln died, which caused joy at the Vatican. 
The 131 letters of this eminent prelate from 1210 to 1253 are full 
of interest, referring, as they do, not only to the ecclesiastic, but 
also the political condition of England. 

The third dawning of modern progress in this century was 
" Magna Charta," which, as Blackstone says, " was obtained 
sword in hand from King John." Behold a free translation of 
the famous Twenty-ninth * Article. 

"No freeman shall be taken, or imprisoned, or dispossessed of his freehold, 
or liberties, or free customs, or banished, or in any way injured. Nor will we 
pass upon him, nor send upon him, except by lawful judgment of his peers, or 
by the law of the land. To no one will we sell, to no one will we deny or 
delay right or justice." 

Blackstone says : " This clause alone would have merited the 
title of the great Charter." Sir Edward Coke calls Magna 

* "Nullus liber homo capiatur vel imprisonetur, aut disseisiatur de libero 
tenemento suo vel libertatibus vel liberis consuetudinibus suis ; aut exulet, aut 
aliquo modo destruatur. Nee super eum ibimus nee super eum mittemus ; nisi 
per legale judicium parium suorum, vel per legem terrae. Nulli vendemus, 
nulli negabimus aut differemus rectum vel justitiam." 



236 Franco- English Period \ A.D. 1200-1600. 

Charta " the fundamental laws of England." For this liberal 
code England is indebted to Stephen Langton, scholar and states- 
man ; he was Archbishop of Canterbury. Educated at the Uni- 
versity of Paris, he there taught theology and won so much 
respect, that he was elected Chancellor of the University. Pope 
Innocent III. made him Cardinal and Archbishop of Canterbury 
against the wishes of King John. Langton induced his country- 
men to demand Magna Charta of the King. After much discus- 
sion and even threatened civil war, John signed it at Runnymede, 
June 5th, 1215. Next the Pope issued against the Barons an 
excommunication, which Langton refused to publish. Thus this 
most liberal of prelates stood out against Pope and King, when 
they interfered with the rights or liberties of his country. He 
induced Henry III., son of John, to confirm Magna Charta, 
A.D. 1223. To Langton is ascribed the division of the Bible 
into chapters. 

I regretted that Magna Charta was not written in English ; but 
when I considered the wording, clearness, precision, force, and 
intent, in which it was conceived and expressed, I felt convinced 
it could not have been written in a wavering, doubtful dialect, 
having neither fixed vocabulary, orthography, grammar, nor 
construction. After all, thought, ideas, language, and writing 
must germinate, grow, bud, bloom, fruit and seed like other de- 
velopments. As English had not even germinated in 12 15, it was 
totally unfit to express thoughts and ideas so much in advance 
of England's population. Latin alone, which was the language 
of the thinking, the educated, and the learned, was the proper 
medium to express, convey and set forth that bulwark of rights 
and liberties for generations yet to be born. No nation, people, 
or tribe has yet outgrown the spirit of Article 29. It soon became 
a classic monument and study for scholars of all climes and ages, 
which it would not have become had it been written in English 
of 1215. 

Roger Bacon could not have found proper terms in transition 
English of A.D. 1270, to express the experimental ideas in his 
writings. Hardly any language but that of his illustrious prede- 
cessor Pliny could serve his purpose. Such is our idea of lan- 
guage, its origin and progress : common domestic, didactic and 
every day thoughts, narration of events and moralizing may be 



Thirteenth Century. 237 

done in the native dialect in whatever stage of its progress; 
whereas abstract and unusual thoughts and ideas on science, art 
and mechanics require a progressed, ripened and settled idiom 
to find proper expression. 

English of A.D. 1200 differs more from English of 1400 than 
English of 1400 differs from English of 1600. The language 
from 1600 to 1878 is adequate to express any conception of which 
the human mind is capable. 

The fourth dawning of modern progress in this century was a 
treatise on agriculture, A.D. 1272, whose benign author is yet 
unknown to an ever grateful posterity. Even its title, "Flela," 
has been a mystery to this day ; for it is neither Greek, Gothic, 
Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, Danish, nor French. I can only trace it 
to the supine of fleo, flevi, flere, fletum, meaning to weep, seem- 
ingly a fancy name given to it by some monk versed in Latin, 
who, wishing to express the husbandman's condition at that 
period, did it in this ingenious way. This book had but two fore- 
runners : the first a mere epitome by Cato the Censor, B.C. 200 ; 
the second by Columella, entitled "De Re Rustica" in twelve 
books, about A.D. 50. This earliest modern treatise on husbandry 
was probably evoked by the famine of A.D. 1257, described by 
Matthew Paris. About that time excellent regulations were 
made by Henry III. to protect the tillers of the soil against ba- 
ronial extortions, and to encourage agriculture, which is a nation's 
mainstay, and should ever engage the attention, not only of sci- 
entists and philanthropists, but of statesmen. 

In his " Complete English Farmer v (1792), Dr. Henry observes 
that Fleta contains excellent directions for ploughing, sowing, 
&c. ; also explanations of the duties requisite for stewards, 
bailiffs of manors, and for all others employed in the cultivation 
of a farm. Thus was England the pioneer in modern farming. 
Italy saw Crescenzi's "Opus Ruralium Commodorum" A.D. 
1320; Spain, Herrera's u Libro de Agricultural 1520; Ger- 
many, Heresbach's u Rei Rusticae Libra Quatuor" 1570, all 
in Latin. Only in 1600 appeared "Olivier de Serres* Theatre 
d' Agriculture" in the vernacular ; but England had seen, in plain 
English, Tusser's "Five Hundred Poi?its of Good Husbandry, 
United to as many of Good Housewifery" in verse, as early as 
1573. Hence, England had two works on agriculture, whereas 



238 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200-1600. 

the modern European countries had but one prior to 1573. No 
wonder agriculture, husbandry, and farming have ever been fore- 
most in England. 

To overlook Layamon, who translated Wace's u Le Brut 
d'Angleterre" into the language of his day, which was a mere 
transition idiom, would be depriving us of a work which Hallam 
says " exhibits, as it were, the chrysalis of the English language.*' 
This was, no doubt, the reason that the British government had. 
it published at great expense from the MS., 1847. If we imagine 
an obscure priest at Ernly upon Severn, translating a French 
lyric poem of 15,300 lines as early as A.D. 1205, it seems like a 
vision; yet it was a reality; for Sir F. Madden, who translated it 
into English, in 1847, from the Cottonian MS. in the British Mu- 
seum, says : 

"The poem, when complete, consisted of about 26,960 lines, of which 
about 2,370 are wholly lost, and about 1,000 more are in an injured state." 

Layamon tells us he incorporated into his poem iL Le Brut 
d" 1 Angleterre" Bede's and St. Austin's works, and that of some 
others ; " and to obtain these books he traveled all over the land." 
He says in his preface that Wace presented his poem to " the 
noble Elanor, who was Henry's queen, the mighty King." We 
find in Layamon' s poem the story of King Lear and his three 
daughters, from which Shakespeare took his play of " King Lear." 

Our Extract and Table from Layamon's "Brut" A.D. 1205, 
contains but two per cent. Greco-Latin in a translation of 15,000 
French lines, which evinces a remarkable tenacity to the native 
idiom at a period, when all tended towards French and Greco- 
Latin. 

In this century the science of the Shepherd Kings and Magi 
found votaries in Spain ; for the "Alphonsin Tables " were pub- 
lished under the patronage of Alphonso X., King of Castile and 
Leon, A.D. 1252. About the same time geographic knowledge 
was advanced by Marco Polo, who explored China, whence he 
returned, A.D. 1295, wrote his travels and imparted to Europe 
valuable information about the country, which he called Cathay. 
His account was considered fabulous ; but later explorations 
have confirmed most of his statements. About A.D. 1209. the 
works of Aristotle were sent to Western Europe from the libra 



Thirteenth Century. 239 

ries of Constantinople. The University of Paris condemned and 
refused to admit them among the classics; but they sooji became 
the standard in philosophy and science ; for (in this very century, 
about A.D. 1270) Jacob Van Maerland, styled the father of 
Dutch poetry, translated the gems of Aristotle into his native 
tongue and issued them to the world, entitled " Sentences from 
Aristotle," which was a rebuke to the sages of the Parisian Uni- 
versity. Notwithstanding the vague claims of anteriority con- 
cerning "De Trojaensche Oorlog" (The Siege of Troy), "Reis 
van Sinte Brafidaen" (Journey of St. Brandaen), and "Reinaert 
de Vos" (Renard the Fox), we consider Maerland the pioneer 
thinker and writer of the Netherlands. He was to the Dutch, 
A.D. 1270, what Caedmon was to the Anglo-Saxons, A.D. 670: 
like Caedmon, he paraphrased and rhymed the Bible ("Rij'm- 
bijbel"). He also translated the "Speculum Historiale" of Vin- 
cent de Beauvais into his native tongue ("Spiegel Historier'), 
and wrote "Wapen Martyn" and "Diere Gaerden" a treatise on 
horticulture. He was not only versed in poetry, but in natural 
history and jurisprudence. He gave to his country vernacular 
writing and literature before Dante bestowed the same boon on 
Italy. Let us see how delicately this early Dutch bard addressed 
his readers ; any Englishman can easily understand this kindred 
tongue : 

" For I am Flemysh, I yow beseche, 
Of youre curtesye, al and eche, 
That shal thys Boche chaunce peruse, 
Unto me nat youre grace refuse ; 
And yf ye fynden any worde 
In youre countrey that ye unherde, 
Thynketh that clerkys for her ryme 
Taken a faultie worde somtyme." 

Maerland was born 1235 and died 1300. His epitaph reads 
thus : 

" Trans hominem gnarus astu rhetorque disertus ; 
Quern laus dictandi jurisque proverbia fandi 
Transalpinavit, famaque perenne beavit." 

About this period Kazwyny, styled the oriental Pliny, wrote 
"Wonders of Nature and Singularity of Created Things," of 



240 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200- 1600. 

which parts have been translated by Idler and Chezy. It is said 
the plan of the work was so well executed as to surpass all pre- 
ceding natural histories. The learned Rabbi Judah Aben of 
Granada, better known as Tibbon, translated so many Arabian 
books into Hebrew, that he was called " The Prince of Transla- 
tors." 1 His versions brought oriental gems within reach of Euro- 
pean scholars. Thus did Semitic thought, language, literature 
and science florish, while the Gotho-Germanic dialects were 
striving to rise. Now things are reversed ; for Gotho-Germanic 
thought, language, literature and science pervade and surpass all. 

The pious king, St. Louis, who died in the last crusade, so- 
licitous about western civilization, sent Rubruquis and two other 
monks to Asia to convert the Tartars and induce them to cease 
their westward encroachments. The zealous missionary passed 
two years among the Tartars, who treated him hospitably, then 
returned A.D. 1255, and wrote an account, in which he furnishes 
the accurate locality, shape and dimensions of the Caspian Sea, 
so misrepresented by Herodotus, Strabo, and even Ptolemy. Also 
Pope Innocent IV. sent Father Carpini to Mongolia, whose Khan 
received him kindly, allowed him to visit his dominions, and gave 
him a letter to his Holiness. A translation of his travels is con- 
tained in Hakluyt's u Collection of Voyages." Through those 
Medieval missions the European dialects and literatures obtained 
more reliable information concerning the tribes and countries of 
Middle Asia. 

Let us not omit to state here that the Mongolians or Tartars 
conquered China and its capital, Pekin, under Jengis Khan, about 
A.D. 1 2 15, and established a Mongolian dynasty which has since 
ruled over China. Hence, the great Chinese wall proved as 
futile against the Mongolians as the Roman wall in Britain proved 
against the Picts and Scots. History intimates that the Mongo- 
lians issued from the Scythians or Scoloti,* and that the Celtic 
and Gotho-Germanic races sprang from the same Asiatic stock. 

This century saw fewer Latin writers than the twelfth, because 
the vernacular began to attract students and authors. The 
Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, so reduced from 1066 to 

* Herodotus, B. IV., 6 and 7. Sku'W, 2ko\otoi, KeKror, Scythes, Celtce, 
Scot/, Getae, Gothi ; Scythians, Celts, Scots, Jutes, Goths. 



Thirteenth Century. 24 1 

1200, began to florish, since they were favored by royal privi- 
leges and richly endowed by private individuals. An institution 
calculated to encourage literature and develop England's lan- 
guage, may be traced to the reign of Henry III., whose treasurer's 
record of 1251 shows a yearly salary of one hundred shillings to 
Master Henry. The individual thus mentioned was the king's 
poet, Henry d'Avranches, a native of France, who seems to have 
been the pioneer "Poet Laureate." I need but name his succes- 
sors : Chaucer, 1380; Skelton, 1529; Spenser, 1596; Dryden, 
1668; Warton, 1790; Southey, 1813; Wordsworth, 1850, and 
Tennyson, 1878, to show what the humble office, created by 
Henry III. about 1240, has done for England's language and 
literature. They form a galaxy of poets and scholars, of whom 
not only England, but humanity may feel proud. 

The last writing in Anglo-Saxon was a writ of Henry III. 
(1258) to his subjects in all parts of his kingdom, in support of 
" The Oxford Provisions." In the same year he ordered all the 
enactments of Parliament to be issued, not only in Latin and 
French, but also in the vernacular, which tended greatly to ad- 
vance the English language. 

During the long reign of Henry III. (A.D. 1216-1273) some 
important socio-legal measures were introduced : the disuse of 
trial by ordeal began ; a salutary law was enacted, " that no cattle 
necessary for the cultivation of land shall be distrained for king's 
dues, or any other kind of debt ; and a statute was passed to fine 
lawyers for indulging in long pleadings and speeches. Such a 
law, and the strict enforcement thereof, would not be out of place 
in the United States. 

Scotland, among her many distinguished men, had one whose 
fame and writings spread at an early date all over Europe ; it 
was Sir Michael Scott, of Balwirie. His being knighted by the 
king, his extensive travels, and the honors showered upon him 
by sovereignty, especially by Frederick II., Emperor of Germany, 
who was himself an accomplished scholar, all would long since 
have been forgotten, had not the titles of his books been con- 
nected with his name : they were "Mensa Philosophica " (Philoso- 
pher's Banquet); "Questio Curiosa de Naturd Soils et Luna" 
(Curious Question about the Nature of the Sun and Moon) ; 
"Physiognomia" and "History of Animals" all attributed to him 
16 



242 Franco -English Period, A.D. 1200-1600. 

by both English and French biographers. Such works were 
calculated to attract attention, especially as they were written in 
Latin, then the language of scholars of all climes. No wonder 
Sir Michael, like his other learned cotemporaries, was considered 
a magician in league with Satan, to whom all progress in science, 
art, and mechanics was ascribed in that age of superstition. He 
died 1290. His books and fame must have reached Dante as 
early as 1300, for he alludes to the legends concerning him in 
his "Inferno" written about that epoch. Had Sir Michael's 
works been penned in his native dialect, they never would have 
reached Dante. Sir Walter Scott alludes to the superstitions 
regarding him in his "Lay of the Last Minstrel ; " and Lavater 
found a precedent for his "Physiognomy" in one of Sir Michael's 
works. 

In this century Duns Scotus and Thomas Aquinas commenced 
their empty discussions about scholastic trifles, which their dis- 
ciples, styled Scottists and Thomists, continued for several centu- 
ries. As such wrangling tends to benefit language, it may be 
tolerated. Duns Scotus, called the Subtle Doctor, enchanted 
the Oxford students by his subtleties. 

Matthew Paris wrote a chronicle sty^d u Historia Major An- 
gliae" and "Historia Minor Angliae." He is considered a his- 
torian of great veracity. The clergy became hostile to him, 
probably because he told the unvarnished truth ; but, as he was a 
favorite of Henry III., their hostility was powerless. His Latin 
is not so brilliant as Malmesbury's, but it is clear, distinct, and 
fluent. He died 1259. This candid historian mentions schools 
and academies, founded by the Jews in various cities of England, 
where the most erudite rabbis taught the oriental languages, 
mathematics, and medicine. These institutions were open to 
Christian as well as Jewish children. It is conceded that through- 
out the Dark Ages the progeny of Abraham devoted themselves 
to science and literature. Yet, in spite of their learning, indus- 
try, and good citizenship, they were persecuted in most Christian 
countries. 

Alfred, surnamed "Anglicus and Philosopher," wrote many 
scientific essays, among which one entitled "De Motn Cordis" 
(On the Motion of the Heart) attracted attention. He also wrote 
valuable commentaries on Aristotle. Such works as Alfred's, 



Thirteenth Century. 243 

Roger Bacon's, and Grosse-teste's, were calculated to become in- 
ternational. He died 1270. 

Botany had a worthy votary at this early period in Nicholas 
Ferneham, physician to Henry III., who made him Bishop of 
Durham, which he accepted with reluctance, and soon resigned 
to devote himself to botany, which he studied with great zeal. 
Thus the science of Theophrastus, Dioscorides, and Pliny, found 
a champion in Northwestern Europe, and botanic terms began 
to fi?id their way into the English vocabulary. This pioneer 
Medieval scientist died 1241, after having written several es- 
says on medicine. Matthew Paris eulogizes him as an eminent 
physician. 

Towards the close of this age Adam Davie wrote extensively 
in the vernacular ; but only one manuscript, that treats of the 
Crusades, remains. The vocabulary and style of this writing 
indicate Anglo-Saxon and Franco-Norman fusion. Then ap- 
peared Langtoft's " Chronicle of England " in French verse, as a 
continuation of that of Robert Wace. Robert Manning trans- 
lated this poem into the vernacular. Thomas Hearne edited 
this translation from MSS. and issued it about A.D. 1724. This 
poem also shows a decided fusion of Anglo-Saxon and Franco- 
Norman, that had now fairly set in, near the close of the thirteenth 
century. 

About the beginning of this century commenced that dark and 
diabolic tribunal, the Inquisition, which secretly made away with, 
tortured and murdered so many liberal men, progressive, not only 
in religion, but in language, literature, art, and science. The 
Inquisition originated with Pope Innocent III., 1207. He gave 
orders to Father Dominic to incite the Catholic princes to ex- 
terminate heretics. Dominic and his tools, the Dominicans, 
executed the Pope's bidding : the archives of Spain show that 
within three centuries there were 291,450 persons imprisoned, 
scourged, and tortured ; 24,380 burned alive ; a total of 343,522 
in Spain alone. We are left to conjecture what must have been 
the number all over Europe, where no country was exempt from 
that visitation. 

The Albigenses, an inoffensive religious sect, furnished the 
pretext for this horrible institution ; they were exterminated in 
the most cruel manner, though thousands in number. The 



244 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200- 1600. 

erudite Dutch writer, van Limborch, in his " History of the In- 
quisition," relates this anecdote of Father Dominic : During the 
slaughter of the Albigenses by King Philip's mercenaries, entering 
the town of Bitterre, the soldiers exclaimed : " Alas ! here are many 
Catholics ; how shall we distinguish them from the heretics ? " 
" Slay them all (said the zealous Dominic) ; spare none ; God 
can distinguish his own." The Inquisition interdicted, persecuted, 
imprisoned, tortured, or burned such men as Roger Bacon, Huss, 
Copernicus, Galileo, Torregiano, and the like. In 1234 Pope 
Gregory IX. had the effrontery to insult humanity by sainting 
Father Dominic ! ! ! It took Napoleon the Great to abolish the 
Inquisition. I know there have been advocates, defenders, dis- 
guisers and extenuators of this horror, and among them I am 
sorry to find a man as eminent and able as Count J. M. de 
Maistre ; his " Soirees de St. Petersbourg " charmed many read- 
ers ; but any one, who wishes to understand the nature of that 
dismal institution, has but to read u Critical History of the Span- 
ish Inquisition" by Llorente, a Spanish priest, who, after having 
been its secretary from 1789 to 1808, became so disgusted with 
its atrocities, that he powerfully aided Napoleon in its suppression, 
1808. On the expulsion of the French from Spain, 1814, this 
liberal priest retired to Paris, where he quietly wrote and pub- 
lished his excellent history, 181 7. 

Our first Extract and Table of this century consists of the 
Lord's Prayer and Creed, 1250, and contains ninety-four per 
cent. Gotho-Germanic, five per cent. Greco-Latin, and one per 
cent. Semitic. Our second Extract and Table is from Robert of 
Gloucester's "History of England," which gives seventy-one per 
cent. Gotho-Germanic, twenty-seven per cent. Greco-Latin and 
two per cent. Celtic ; a most felicitous fusion, calculated to rally 
Anglo-Saxons, Franco-Normans and Celts, all being represented 
in the improved idiom. All we know of Robert of Gloucester is 
his Christian name, and that he was a monk at Gloucester Abbey. 
He wrote a chronicle in verse of 10,000 lines, which was exten- 
sively read and highly valued. He certainly evinced linguistic 
talent and true patriotism in combining a language to suit the 
Anglo-Saxons, Franco-Normans, and Celts. 

Hear what he says of the linguistic tendency and fashion of 
his day : 



Thirteenth Century. 245 

" Vor bote a man couthe French, me tolth of hym wel lute ; Ac lowe men 
holdeth to Englyss." 

" For but a man could (speak) French, we spoke of him highly; only low 
men hold to English." 

Thomas Hearne edited Gloucester's History from MS. and 
issued it 1724. Of this English pioneer historian and poet he 
observes: "Robert of Gloucester is certainly a great curiosity, 
and I do not doubt but he will be esteemed as such ;" which was 
a prophecy ; for our numeric investigation shows Robert of 
Gloucester as a great benefactor to his country, and his books 
the real dawn of the English language. 

A small streamlet of medical terms began to find their way 
into the English language about 1280, through Gilbert, surnamed 
"Anglicus" who was the first in English to write a medical work, 
entitled "Laurea Anglicana sive Comptndium Medici?i(z" He 
had traveled extensively and acquired much chemic and pharma- 
ceutic knowledge, as shown in his Compendium, which found its 
way to the Continent and was printed in Venice as early as 15 10. 
Thus Esculapius and his lovely daughter, Hygeia, were placed 
among the English household gods by Gilbert, who may be styled 
the English Hippocrates. 

Extracts and Tables from Franco-English authors and writings 
of the thirteenth century, showing their style and the numeric 
origin of their vocabulary. They are from : 

Layamon's "Brut,"A.D. 1205; 

Prayers, about A. D. 1250; and 

Robert of Gloucester's Chronicle, A.D. 1280. 



246 Franco-English Period, A.D. 1 200- 1600. 



Extract front Layamoifs "Brut" III. Vol., edited by Sir F. Madden, from the Cot- 
tonian MSS. in the British Museum, 1847, L. E., Vol. I., p. 84. Layamon, airiest 
of Erfily upon Severn, translated Robert IVace's "Le Brut d'Angieterre" from 
French into Franco-English. 



ANGLO-SAXON I 

" Brutaine hefde Brutus : 
and Cornwaile Corineus. 
Brutus nom alle his freond : 
the comen in his ferde. 
neh him he heom laende : 
for heo him leofe weoren. 
Corineus him cleopede to : 
alle his icorene 
alle he heom laende : 
ther heom wes aire leofest 
Weox thet folk and wel ithaih 
for aelc hefde his iwillen. 
inne lut geren firste : 
wes the folc swa muchel. 
that ther nas nan ende : 
of folke swithe hende. 
Brut hine bi-thohte : 
and this folc bi-heold. 
bi-heold he tha muntes : 
feire and muchele. 
bi-heold he tha medewan ; 
the weoren swithe maere. 
bi-heold he tha wateres : 
and tha wilde deor. 
bi-heold he tha fisches : 
bi-heold he tha fugeles. 
bi-heold he tha leswa : 
and thene leofliche wode. 
bi-heold he thene wode hu he bleou : 
bi-heold he the corn hu it greu : 
al he iseih on leode : 
that him leof was on heorten. 
Tha bi-thohte he on Troygen : 
ther his cun teone tholeden. 
and he lidthe geond this lond : 
and scaewede thea leoden. 
He funde wunsu ane stude : 
vppen ane watere. 
thaer he gon araeren : 
rich ane burhe 
mid bouren and mid hallen : 
mid haege stan walle 
Tha the burh wes i-maked : 
tha wes he swithe mare. 
Tha burh wes swithe wel idon : 
and he hire sette name on. 
he gef hire to hire t fulne name : 
Troye the Newe. 
to munien his ikunde : 
Whone he icomen weore. 
soththen tha leodene : 
longe ther after 
ieide adun thene noma : 
and Trinouant heo nemneden. 
Binnen feola witre : 



The 



from 



with 
by 



hit iwerth. 

233 common words, among which 
occurs 



ENGLISH, A.D. 1205 : 

Brutus had Britain, 

and Corineus had Cornwall. 

Brutus took all his friends, 

who came in his army ; 

nigh him he stationed them, 

for they were dear to him. 

Corineus called to him 

all his chosen ; 

he placed them all 

where to them it was most desirable. 

The people increased and throve well, 

for each had his will. 

in few years only 

the folk was so increased, 

that there was no end 

of people most good. 

Brutus bethought him, 

and folk beheld ; 

he beheld the mountains ; 

fair and lofty. 

he beheld the meadows, 

that were most spacious ; 

he beheld the waters, 

and the wild deer ; 

he beheld the fishes ; 

he beheld the fowls ; 

he beheld leasowes, 

and the lovely wood. 

he beheld the wood, how it blowed ; 

he beheld the corn, how it grew ; 

all he viewed in the country, 

that was dear to him in heart. 

Then bethought he on Troy, 

where his kindred suffered evil, 

and he journeyed over this land. 

and viewed the country. 

He found a winsome spot, 

upon a water ; 

there he began to rear 

a rich burgh, 

with bowers and with halls, 

with high stone walls. 

When the burgh was made, 

then was it most spacious. 

The burgh was very well made, 

and he set a name to it. 

he gave it for its glorious name, 

Troy the New. 

to commemorate his lineage, 

whence he was come. 

subsequently the people, 

long thereafter, 

laid down the name, 

and Trinovant * they named. 

Within many winters. 



si times. 


Pron. istpers 


occurs times. 


do, aux. occurs times. 


3 || 


" 2d " 


" " 


that " 3 " 




" 3d " 


!! 37 !I 


and " 11 " 


3 " 


be, aux. 


1 3 " 


— 


" 


have, aux. 


« " 


87 


2 " 


shall, " 


» " 


other particles, 26 


3 " 


will, " 


" " 





" 


may, " 


M U 


1 13 particl 



Hence, Layamon's style requires 233 common words to furnish 100 different words, and 
averages about fifty-seven per cent, repetitions and forty-eight per cent, particles. 

* Subsequently called Lundene, after a descendant of Brutus ; now London. 



Thirteenth Century. 



247 



nq 



aft 

§3 



5 




w 




ft 




<cs 




s 




'>. 








tl 


in 


V 


W 


1 


< 


Nl 


O 




ft 


^ 


< 


M 


tA 


\. 




k 


fc< 


v 


O 


* 




•« 


W 




Ph 


g 


> 




H 


-: 




V 


W 


P 


S 




Pk 




< 






fc 

§ 


O 
< 


8 








>■ 












.--. 




», 










35 



K 2 
< O 



w g 

!-R6 



11 "S 



"8. 



•fei 






jy ri 



o^o-ct u Sog3piJ^)oj=g5cSc- 



I 8 
1 V. 



1 v {J 



= S rt 






E"* 3 -■ 

u E E. 

4; « O 



3 C U r-^ 



r ■- o O 



•"3 — 



£ ? 



►2 -2 



248 



Franco- English Period, A.D. 1 200-1600. 



Extract: the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, and part of the Eighth 
Psalm, about A.D. 1250. 

" Fadir ur that es in hevene, 
Halud be thi nam to nevene : 
Thou do us thi rich like : 
Thi will on erd be wrought elk, 
Als it es wrought in heven ay : 
Ur ilk day brede give us to day : 
Forgive thou all us dettes urs 
Als we forgive till ur detturs : 
And ledde us na in na fanding 
But sculd us fra ivel thing." 

lt Hi true in God, fader hal-michttende, that makede heven and herdethe, 
and in Jhesu Krist, is anelepi sone, hure laverd, that was bigotin of the hali 
gast, and born of the mainden Marie, pinid under Punce Pilate, festened to 
the rode, ded and dulvun, licht in til helle, the thride dai up ras fra dede to 
live, stegh intil hevenne, sitis on is fadir richt hand, fadir alwaldand, he then 
sal cume to deme the quike and the dede. Hy troue hy theli gast, and heli 
kirke, the samninge of halghes, forgifnes of sinnes, uprisigen of fleyes, and 
life with-hutin hend. Amen." 

" Laverd, oure Laverd, hou selkouth is 
Name thine in alle land this. 
For upe-hoven es thi mykelhede 
Over hevens that ere brade ; 
Of mouth of childer and soukand 
Made thou lof," &c. 

198 common words, among which 



The 






occurs 


7 


times. 


have, 


aux. occurs 





times. 


a 








<( 





a 


shall, 


it u 


1 


<< 


of 








(t 


6 


(( 


will, 


it a 





a 


to 








<< 


4 


a 


may, 


a u 





(C 


from 








<< 


2 


ct 


do, 


u a 





n 


in 








<« 


7 


(< 


that 




4 


a 


with 








<< 


1 


«< 


and 




9 


a 


by 








it 





" 






7i 
21 




pro. 


of 


I St 

2d 


person 




16 
8 


«< 
a 




other particles, 




<< 
be, aux. 


3d 


<i 


u 
u 


2 
4 








92 


^articles. 



Hence, the devotional style of the thirteenth century required about 198 
common words to furnish 100 different words, and averaged about forty-six 
per cent, particles and forty-nine per cent, repetitions. 



Thirteenth Century. 



249 



S 



* 



5 



6 






io'3 
u- 5'3 



,-* _, u u e j» 



£ E- 






, 3 -a 3 3-d u g 



S-s 



'-3 " S U "O 5J 

e 3 



6-g.sf!!] 



* 



3 « S-g C^^ o>3. 



131-31 

a s « 



; S '" E U 3j; 






•fe 



U J£ 



>« 
























k 




fc, 




a 3.-3 








CO 




•eg ft 




;* 


1) 










« 






^ 


















V 


« 


a 



§ I 



* 






250 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200-1600. 

Extract from Robert of Gloucester 's "Chronicle" (Vol. II, p. 
550), a History of England, in Franco-English verse, begin- 
ning with fabulous times and endifig at the death of Henry 
III, A.D. 1272: 

" The erl of Gloucetre it bispek, so that there was 
A parlement at Londone, to amendi suich trespas. 
So that this tueie erles acorded were there, 
That iremewed al clene the Frensse men were. 
At Seint Hillari-tid this parlement was. 
Ther was the erl of Ferers ibrouzt in hard cas. 
Vor he badde after the pais robberie iwrozt. 
The king wolde in ech manere that he were to dethe ibrozt. 
Sir Simon de Mount ford wisliche dude inou. 
Vor he wolde in either half rizt do, and no wou. 
In the tour of Londone in prisoun he let him bringe, 
For to saui is lif, and to paye the kinge. 
Tho was the erl of Gloucetre anuid uor mani dede, 
That he huld so prisons, al withoute is rede. 
Vor suich man as he was, me tolde of him to lute, 
And him thouzte, that ther was mid Sir Simon to gret prute. 
And me sede he was adrad, that me him nome also 
With treson, vor he was hext, and in prison him lete do. 
Sir Jon Giffard tho verst aze Sir Simond turnde. 
Vor he askede prisouns, that me mid rizte wurnde. 
Vor he was him sulf at Lewes sone inome bi cas. 
Ac Sir Willam Matrauers, a knizt that mid him was, 
In the bataile suththe inome Sir Ranaud le fiz Peris, 
And Sir Alein de la Souche, that Barons were iwis. 
Ac he let horn suththe go, and Sir Reinaud was ther 
In the bataile suththe inome, iarmed as he was er. 
Sir Alein was ek inome in rnonkene wede 
In the priorie suththe, arst he was in drede. 
And vor Sir Willam Mantrauers hom let so quit gon, 
Sir Simond nolde nouzt deliueri hom Sir Jon. 
To the forest," &c. 







267 common woi 


ds, among whic 


1 






The 




occurs 


10 times. 


have, 


aux. 


occurs 


I 


times. 


a 




«< 


2 


<< 


shall, 


it 


tt 





tt 


of 




tt 


4 


tt 


will, 


tt 


a 


1 


tt 


to 




(( 


7 


tt 


may, 


u 


n 





tt 


from 




tt 





tt 


do, 


<( 


" 





tt 


in 




a 


10 


tt 


that 




tt 


9 


tt 


with or 


mid 


ti 


4 


tt 


and 




it 


7 


tt 


by 




tt 


1 


tt 












pronoun 


of 1st 


person " 


4 


tt 








93 




t< 


2d 


(< tt 





tt 




other 


particles, 48 




<( 


3d 


n t< 


23 


t< 








— 




be, aux. 




tt 


10 


a 








141 


particles 



Hence, Robert of Gloucester's style requires 267 common words to furnish 
100 different words, and averages about fifty-three per cent, particles and 
sixty-three per cent, repetitions. 



Thirteenth Century. 



251 



1 



1 



& 



.J 

3 





— 


















(3 










5 
s 

<; 




Ct \o 


."a 
-flfl 






6 H 


y 




o ' M 


HlO 






~o 


h 




!" P 


6 .5 






*2 


7) 






RESULT 

Latin 

French 

Anglo-Sax 

German 

Irish 

Scotch 

Welsh 


CI 2 


*"* - a 
ft" " 


i 

1 


ro 




$5 

u d 

Xl 

2 < 








< 






NO «) 








sy 






N t-» 


■*» 






« 25 














< O 








& 




y 








































H 






















j •• 






















v5 


i 




H ^ 


<D 


h "i" 


,G 










- , 
























1 


'3 


l 


"0 


5 


V 
























































« 


V 








C 






g 










u 






O « </) X.rt 


»o 






u 






v 


-O ,q 








rC 






<u 


O 








_c 


w 




tt 


u 



















ED 


> 

►J 

S 
< 




aze 

askede 

wurnde 

sone 

knizt 

suththe 

iwis 

go 

wede 

arst 

drede 






■S 






l-J 

O 

w 

CM 

H 


y 
< 

K 

w 
a 

6 

a 

g 


6 

a 

H 










1 

3 


^0 

M . 

- >.S 

« s 

ft 


lif 

mani 

dede, n. 

huld, v. 

withoute 

rede 

me 

tolde 

lute 

thouzte 

mid 

gret 

prute 


2 S g £ 


hard 

vor 
hadde 
after 
iwrozt 
king 
olde, aux. 

dethe 

wisliche 

dude, v. 

inou 

either 

half 

rizt 


■§8§tJ 


u 


8 




•s 












Ph 

•-1 






1) — _ "u *j g M <o O 


6 '"-Q ~ 






IS 


6 















3 
















< 


>. 




a ^'S «! 












s 

H 

«! 

6 

u 
u 

05 
O 


1 


J8«a B'3.3 g 






in words : 
7 
meaning, except twc 


Parlement 

amendi 

trespas 

acorded 

seint 

cas 

pais 

manere 

Sir 

de 

tour 

prisoun 

saui 

Dave 


aruid 
treson 
turned 
bataile 




•a 2 








O 


.§ 


1> u 


m 






g 




y 

3 

< 


« 
^ 


Ji ft 






1 

(5 


u 
Ifl 

14 










6 


"*S 








O 




u 


5 








£ 




< 

s 


5 








3 




t* 



























252 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200-1600. 



Synopsis of the different words from the three Tables of the Thir- 
teenth Century : 



Greek : 


2) 


"> 




Latin : 


6 J- Greco-Latin : 


35 




French : 


27 ) 






Anglo-Saxon : 
German : 


"5 !- Gotho-Germanic : 


103 


Total of different 


Irish : 


1) 


words : 142. 


Welsh : 


1 \ Celtic : * 


3 




Scotch : 


if 






Hebrew : 


1 >• Semitic : 


1 





Hence, the style of the Franco-English in the 
thirteenth century shows a vocabulary of different 
words, containing about 

74 per cent. Gotho-Germanic or Anglo-Saxon ; 
24 " Greco-Latin, including 19 per cent. 

French ; 
1 " Celtic, and traces of Semitic. 

Forty-five of the 95 different Anglo-Saxon words, 
or forty-eight per cent., are now obsolete. 

Three of the 27 different French words, or eleven 
per cent, are now obsolete. 

Fifty-seven of the 95 different Anglo-Saxon 
words, or sixty-one per cent., are now spelt as they 
were in the thirteenth century. 

Seven of the different French words, or twenty- 
six per cent., are now spelt as they were in the thir- 
teenth century. 

* First Celtic words we found in the Franco-English dialect. 



Th irteenth Century. 253 

In a provincial Creed of this century we find the 
harmonious Anglo-Saxon words ur, riht, thurh 
(through), dun, ut y changed into these disharmo- 
nious provincialisms : oure, right, thurght, doun 
(down), out. Hence then and there arose the dis- 
harmony between letter and sound, which now 
haunts the English language. Why a practical 
race, like the English and Americans, allow their 
superior idiom to remain disfigured by provincial- 
isms of the Dark Ages, seems unaccountable, espe- 
cially when we consider that unpronounced letters 
could be dropped without being missed, and that 
remaining letters could be harmonized or replaced 
with very slight change in the present spelling, o 
was added to Anglo-Saxon words like kus (house), 
grund (ground), mus (mouse), wund (wound), &c, 
in which u was pronounced by the Anglo-Saxons 
like u in blue, as u is now in German. The o was 
evidently added by the Franco-Normans, whose 
dialect required ou to represent the long Gotho- 
Germanic sound of u as in blue. As there are now 
among the ninety English-speaking millions neither 
Anglo-Saxons nor Franco-Normans, why not rec- 
tify Medieval anomalies and make the English lan- 
guage harmonious, concise, and telegraphic? 

In this century, England's language extended to Wales under 
Edward I. and Llewellyn, A.D. 1283 ; yet to this day some of 
the Welsh or Cymri speak the Cymric dialect of their Celtic 
ancestors. 

In spite of the efforts made by Cymric or Welsh patriots to 
preserve this Celtic tongue, the statistics of 1871 show, in a pop- 
ulation of 1,217,135, only 77,000 (or six per cent.) persons who 
could not speak English. Thus has England's language gradu- 



254 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1 200-1600. 

ally replaced Cymric or Welsh within about six hundred years. 
The 77,000 (six per cent.) non-English-speaking population will 
soon disappear before the inventions and improvements, that 
speed travel and necessitate rapid intercourse. As we read in 
the " Saxon Chronicle " that King Egbert conquered North 
Wales, A.D. 828, it might be said England's language extended 
to Wales in the ninth century ; but so many vicissitudes inter- 
vened between A.D. 828 and 1283, that it can only be claimed 
that English became permanent among the Welsh, A.D. 1283. 
Thus have the Franco-English assailed the mountain homes of 
the descendants of Homer's Ki//,/xepioi (Cimmerii, Cimbri), and 
replaced the Cymric dialect by English in about six hundred 
years. 



FOURTEENTH CENTURY. 



"Children in scole, agenst the usage and manir of all other nacyons, beeth compelled for to 
leve hire owne langage, and for to construe hir lessons and hir thynges in Frenche, and so 
they haveth sethe Normans came first into Engelond. Also Gentilmen children beeth taught 
to speke Frensche from the tyme that they bith rokked in here cradell, and kunneth speke and 
play with a childes broche : and uplondische men will likne himself to gentylmen, and fondeth 
with greet besynesse for to speke Frensche to be told of. 1 ' — Higden's "Polychror.icou.'" 

Translated into English by John de Trevisa. 

Such was. England's linguistic status in Ralph Higden's day. 

Although this century saw learned men waste their intellect in 
scholastic trifles, it also witnessed considerable progress in lan- 
guage, literature, science, art, mechanics, and manufactures. If 
there be truth in the adage: "The agitation of thought is the 
beginning of wisdom," it applies to the fourteenth century, during 
which Wickliffe theologized so wisely as to baffle papal authority, 
Chaucer and Gower wrote poetry, while Robert Manning and 
John de Trevisa translated and nationalized foreign thought. 

Oliphant, in his erudite work, entitled " Sources of Standard 
English" calls Robert Manning " the patriarch of the new English, 
much as Caedmon was of old English six hundred years earlier." 
Let us see whether our numeric method of investigating language 
confirms this statement. Our Extract and Table from Robert 
Manning's writings, A.D. 1303, show thirty-three per cent. Greco- 
Latin, and sixty-seven per cent. Gotho-Germanic or Anglo-Sax- 
on ; whereas our Extract and Table from Robert of Gloucester's 
Chronicle of the thirteenth century give twenty seven per cent. 
Greco-Latin, seventy-one per cent. Gotho-Germanic, and two 
per cent. Celtic. If, therefore, any merit attaches either to pri- 
ority of change towards new English, or priority of change as to 
numbers in the vocabulary, that merit belongs more to Robert 
of Gloucester in the thirteenth, than to Robert Manning in the 
fourteenth century. 

Robert Manning, or Robert of Brunne, was a canon in the 



256 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200- 1600. 

monastery of Brunne or Bourn, Lincolnshire ; he florished about 
1303, when he translated "Manuel des Peches" by William Wad- 
dington, into English, and called it "Handlyng Synne." He also 
translated into English "Peter Langhtofts Chronicle of England" 
(written in French verse), dating from Cadwallader, last king of 
the Britons, A.D. 703 to 1307. This chronicle was a continua- 
tion of Robert Wace's. Thomas Hearne edited and issued Man- 
ning's version from MS., 1724. In those primitive days a trans- 
lation was as much, and even more valued, than an original work ; 
probably because people of one country were curious to know 
what people of other countries were thinking and doing, at a 
period when travel was difficult and a journey across the channel 
rarer than now a journey to New Zealand or Alaska. In his books 
Robert Manning speaks thus of himself and of those whose works 
he translated : 

" Robert of Brunne greteth gow, &c. 
Dane Felyp was mayster that tyme 
That y began this Englyssh ryme. 
The yeres of grace fyl * than to be 
A thousand and thre hundred and thre. 
Pers of Langtoft, a chanon, 
Schaven in the house of Bridlington, 
On Frankys style, this storie y wrote, 
Of Inglys Kynges, &c. . . . 
If ye will listen and lere.f 
In that tyme turnede y thys 
On Englysshe tunge out of Frankys, 
Of a boke as y fonde ynne ; 
Men clepyn^: the boke "Handlyng Synne" 
All the story of Inglonde ; 
As Robert Manning wrytten it fande ; 
Not for the lered, but for the le\ved.§ " 

Had authors and writers of Medieval times, when there was 
no copyright, identified themselves in a like manner, there would 
now be less doubt in biography and history. Adam Davie, mar- 
shal of Stratford Le Bow, lived about the forepart of this century. 
He must have been a poet of note, for we read these lines in a 
poem of 1307 : 



Fell. f Learn. % Called. § Ignorant. 



Fo u rteen tJi Centu ry . 257 

" Whoso wil speke myd me Adam the marchal, 
In Stretforde Bowe he is yknown and over al." 

Of his numerous works only one MS. remains, containing 
"Battle of Jerusalem," " Legend of St. Alexius," &c. 

About this period happened an event full of instruction for 
the historian, philanthropist, and statesman : the renowned hand- 
ful of mountaineers, William Tell, Fiirst, Melchthal, Stauffacher, 
&c, rose against mighty Austria, A.D. 1308. Then and there, in 
those lofty Alpine regions, the language of freedom spoke in 
thundering tones, and man's sacred rights have been cherished 
and maintained ever since, and are likely to be so for all time to 
come. That heroic feat has not only been felicitously portrayed 
by historians and artists, but sung by poets, among whom shines 
the humane and high-toned Schiller for his "Wilhelm Tell" which, 
operatized by Rossini, 1829, has been the delight of the musical 
world. Thus have certain events started thought, influenced and 
exercised pen, pencil, and chisel, and expanded the vocabulary : 
who has not seen, heard, read "Wilhelm Tell," in his own or 
some other language ? Harmonists and poets have ever turned 
a keen eye towards the beautiful in thought and sentiment : 
probably Rossini's grand opera of Tell is a myth ; perhaps 
Smollett's sublime "Ode to Independence," in which he thus al- 
ludes to Tell and his companions, is a fable : 

" Who with the generous rustics sate 
On Uri's rock, in close divan, 
And wing'd that arrow, sure as fate, 
Which ascertain'd the sacred rights of man." 

Who ever heard the melodious strains of the composer, saw the 
pathetic lines of the poet, read the history of Switzerland, and 
considered the character of her people, can think of Tell as a 
myth ? Since the two zealous Irish monks, Columban and Gall, 
went to the continent, A.D. 585, as previously stated ; since 
Gall founded the famous monastery of St. Gall, and became the 
apostle of Switzerland, the descendants of the Helvetii, who so 
bravely opposed Caesar, 60 B.C., have ever powerfully contributed 
to European civilization and progress : learning and science have 
ever found a home, not only at St. Gall, but at Basle, Zurich and 
Geneva. The early Swiss and German chroniclers, Stettler and 
17 



258 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200- 1600. 

Huldrich (Mutius), laud Tell's independence and patriotism, 
which fired the Swiss and European heart. Thus a seemingly 
unimportant event, in the snow-capped Alps, A.D. 1308, became 
the key-note of European thought, literature, art, and language ; 
for it inspired not only statesmen, historians, orators, and poets, 
but painters, sculptors, and composers. Yet, according to some 
late hypercritics, William Tell is a myth, because a feat of arch- 
ery, similar to that of Tell, is mentioned of the Scandinavian 
hero, Egill, during the seventh or eighth century. As well say 
Switzerland and her heroic and industrious people have been a 
fable since Uri's handful of patriots rid her of Gessler's despotism, 
encouraged by Albert of Austria, who may be styled the Nero 
of Germany. 

About A.D. 1316, the celebrated Italian scientist, Mundinus, 
made the first human dissections among the moderns, and gave 
to medicine and surgery his work, entitled " Anatomia omnium 
humani Corporis interiorum Membranorum" whence a streamlet 
of scientific terms flowed into the modern languages ; for soon 
youths from all parts of Europe flocked to Italy to study medi- 
cine and surgery. We are told the Egyptians practised human 
anatomy ages ago, and that Democritus dissected animals to learn 
the structure of the animal frame, 460 B.C. We are told a Ger- 
man monk and chemist, named Schwartz, discovered the amalgam 
called gunpowders A.D. 1330. The same discovery has been 
claimed for China and for Roger Bacon. What an array of 
technic terms, from cannon to needle-gun, from man-of-war to 
iron-clad has flowed into military and naval science and language, 
to say nothing of the sporting, hunting, and blasting vocabularies ! 
No wonder the Fatherland erected a monument to Schwartz in 
his native city, Freiburg, A.D. 1853. 

In this age the character styled Old English, or Black Letter, 
began to be generally used. Then England's Augustan Era foi 
language and literature was dawning, when a dismal cloud, cal- 
culated to postpone Europe's progress indefinitely, covered the 
horizon. That cloud and its woful inundations and ravages 
originated in the insatiate ambition of the Normano-Plantagenets. 
Soon after his accession, 1327, Edward III. added the French 
"fleurs de lis " to his coat-of-arms, and to justify this change 
issued the following lines : 



Fourteenth Century. 259 

11 Rex sum regnorum, bina ratione, duorum : 
Anglorum in regno sum rex ego jure paterno ; 
'Matris jure quidem Francorum nuncupor idem, 
Hinc est armorum variatio facta meorum." 

To which Philippe de Valois. King of France, replied : 

" Praedo regnorum qui diceris esse duorum: 
Francorum regno privaberis atque paterno. 
Succedunt mares huic regno, non mulieres : 
Hinc est armorum variatio stulta tuorum." 

ENGLISH TRANSLATION: 

I am king of two realms by double reason : 

In the kingdom of England I am king by paternal right ; 

By maternal right, indeed, I am declared the same of France. 

Therefore the change of my arms was made. 

REPLY OF PHILIPPE : 

You who claim to be the plunderer of two realms, 

May be deprived of the kingdom of France and the paternal. 

Men succeed to this kingdom, not women : 

Therefore the change of your arms was silly. 

Thus far it was a pen- war, and should have remained so ; but 
those who can order innocent people to back their pride, ambi- 
tion, or temper, are very apt to do so. About 1336 Edward 
declared war, which, with various interruptions, continued over 
one hundred years. 

From the happy marriage of Ethelbert and Bertha, 597 to 1336, 
the Anglo-Saxons and Franks had gone hand in hand, aiding and 
encouraging progress at home and abroad, till, as we stated, the 
Normano-Plantagenets longed to establish their throne in Paris 
and use England as a mere province ; but the representatives of 
the English people, composed of Anglo-Saxons, Celts and Franco- 
Normans, whom time and intercourse had welded into one, per- 
ceived the drift of events and neutralized it, even after the tri- 
umph at Crecy and Calais, 1347; for, though voting all the ex- 
penses of the war, " they solemnly declared that it was Edward 
as King of England, and not as King of France, whom they 
obeyed ; and prudently decreed that the two kingdoms must 
ever remain separate." Again, 1348, Parliament refused to im- 
pose further burdens on the English people to prosecute a war 



260 Franco- English Period ', A.D. 1 200-1 600. 

whose triumphs had cost England so much. Thus did the ever 
watchful representatives of England coolly and quietly circumvent 
the ambitious plans of the Normano-Plantagenets. It is claimed 
the signal success of Edward III. at the battle of Crecy (A.D. 
1346) was due to the use of gunpowder and cannon. The co- 
temporary Froissart says the Scots used gunpowder and cannon 
at the siege of Sterling, A.D. 1338 ; hence Schwartz's thunder 
soon found advocates and users. 

As we all know that, during this bloody war, Edward besieged 
Calais, which Eustache de St. Pierre bravely defended, that after 
a long siege the place had to surrender, and that Edward ordered 
Eustache and his companions to be executed, behold what the 
humane Pettit Andrews says in his " History of Great Britain " : 

"It gives the historian pain to say that it was more by the entreaties of 
Philippa than by his own generosity, that Edward was prevented from punish- 
ing Eustache de St. Pierre and five more brave and steady citizens, for that 
fidelity which ought to have secured his warmest esteem." 

Thus the gentle Philippa of Hainaut, Queen of Edward III., 
interceded for the heroic defenders of Calais, 1347, and dissuaded 
her rash consort from staining himself with their blood. Woman 
often does intuitively perceive and instinctively advocate the right. 

Sir John Mandeville, born at St. Albans, England, about 1300, 
studied and practised medicine, which little suited his love of 
adventure. About 1322 he went to Palestine and joined the 
army of the Sultan of Egypt, which gave him an opportunity to 
see the land of the Pharaohs, Libya, Persia, Tartary, and India. 
He went to Southern China, where the Khan of Cathay received 
him kindly. Thence he journeyed to Cambalu (Pekin), where he 
spent three years. On his return he traversed Hungaria and 
Germany, and settled at Liege. It is said he was absent thirty- 
three years. He first wrote his travels in Latin, about 1456 : 
next in French, then in English, which proves Sir John a pretty 
good linguist, to say nothing of the dialects and languages he 
heard, and learned in the countries he visited. He died in 
Liege, 1372, and was buried there. In connection with his name 
some hypercritics try to sneer, and mention "Sinbad the Sailor" 
and "Gulliver ;" others cite F. M. Pinto; while those more 
charitably inclined compare him to Marco Polo. It should be 



Fourteenth Century. 261 

borne in mind, that all these travels awakened interest in voyages 
of discovery, soon to produce great results in geographic, ethno- 
logic, linguistic, and historic research. 

Sir John does not positively say he saw all he relates in his 
book ; for we often find these expressions : "TJiei seyn" or "Men 
seyn" "but I have not seen it myself." He affirms on infor- 
mation and belief, as some broad and liberal codes allow wit- 
nesses to do in our modern courts. However, we have nothing to 
do with the veracity or non-veracity of literary productions ; our 
object is language and words, which we find in Milton's, Hume's, 
Defoe's, and Mandeville's books, and even in Sinbad and Gulliver. 

To realize the popularity of Mandeville's work, we have but 
to state where it was issued as soon as printing was known : Ly- 
ons, 1480 ; Paris about the same time; Venice, in Italian, 149 1 ; 
Zwol, Netherlands, 1493 ; Louvain, 1499, & c « Thus were lan- 
guages and words interchanged, diffused, and appropriated 
through Mandeville's travels. It is said he dedicated his work 
to Edward III. Of his book several MSS. of the fourteenth and 
fifteenth centuries are extant now. The old French edition ends 
thus: "Cy finist ce tres playsant liure nomine Mandeville." 
Behold some of posterity's dicta : 

" Sir John Mandeville, about 1350, may pass for the father of English prose, 
no original work being so ancient as his travels." — Hal/am, 1859. 

" We may look upon his English as the speech spoken at court in the latter 
days of King Edward III." — Oliphant, 1873. 

The Bishop of Armagh (1357) informed Pope Innocent VI. 
that the number of students at Oxford had greatly diminished, 
which was due to their having been enticed away by mendicant 
friars, so that parents were afraid to send their sons thither. 
John Barbour wrote "The Bruce,' 1 ' 1 a biographic and historic poem 
of Robert Bruce, written in an easy, fluent style. His English 
can be more readily understood than Chaucer's, as may be seen 
by these few lines : 

" This was in midst of month of may, 
When birdis sing on ilka spray, 
Melland their notes, with seemly soun, 
For softness of the sweet seasoun. 



262 Franco- English Period ', A.D. 1 200-1600. 

And leavis of the branchis spreeds, 
And bloomis bright beside them breeds, 
And fieldis strawed are with flow'rs 
Well favoring of their colours." 

John Brompton, Abbot of Jorvaulx, Yorkshire, wrote a " Chron- 
icon" from 588 to 1198. This work would be of little value 
without its collection of Anglo-Saxon codes and laws, which are 
interesting and curious documents. 

About 1362 appeared " Vision and Creed of Pierce Plowman" 
a caustic satire against the clergy. This poem, consisting of 
twenty isolated visions, is ascribed to Robert Langland. One 
of these visions is considered as a prophecy of the Reformation 
by Henry VIII. It is said Langland was one of Wickliffe's first 
disciples. Warton, in his "History of English Poetry" says he 
should have considered this poem spurious, had he not seen it in 
MSS. as old as 1400. Hallam calls him the first English writer 
who could be read with approbation. All that is known of this 
early writer is, that he was a priest and fellow of Oriel College, 
Oxford. The following are some of his prophetic lines : 

" And then shall come a King, and confess your religions, 
And bete you, as the Bible telleth, for breaking of your rule. 
And amende moniales, monkes and chanoines, 
And then fiers in her freytour shall find a key 
Of Constantynes coffers, in which is the catal, 
That Gregories god children had it dispensed." 

We think Robert Langland, being a secular priest and adherent 
of Wickliffe, needed no prophetic inspiration to write these lines 
at that period : close observation of preceding and passing events 
and circumstances sufficed ; he had, no doubt, studied cause and 
effect ; he knew, that English kings had openly resented papal 
anathemas ; that French kings had removed popes to Avignon ; 
that in his own day and generation Emperor Louis of Germany 
had dared to shelter at his court the Franciscan prior, Ockham, 
against papal persecution ; that the royal family, the Londoners, 
and such minds as Chaucer favored Wickliffe ; that, according to 
the cotemporary chronicler, Knighton, " more than one-half the 
people of England embraced Wickliffe's doctrine." 

Edward III. had imprisoned bishops and abrogated "Peter 



Fourteenth Century. 263 

pe?ice" granted by King Ethelwulf, A.D. 855, and confirmed by 
Edward the Confessor about A.D. 1060. Langland knew, that 
the character of the clergy had changed ; that the British Isles, 
in his day, had no such men as Columban and Gall, A.D. 585, 
Benedict Biscop and Ceolfrid, A.D. 675, Wilbrord and Hewald, 
A.D. 696, and Winfrid, A.D. 732, who went forth to preach 
Christianity, rear monasteries, clear dismal forests, which they 
turned into fertile fields, thus showing to the benighted masses a 
living example of industry and usefulness, coupled with Christ's 
sublime teachings. The golden Benedictine rule : " Every monk 
should earn his living by manual labor of some kind," had become 
a dead letter ; begging friars had become as numerous as spar- 
rows; students of colleges and universities had joined them; 
because they could live on the fat of the land without working. 
Study, copying MSS., making fine books and collecting libraries, 
as did the Benedictines, became a drudgery to vigorous idle men, 
who wanted amusement ; hence they left their monasteries and 
roamed as adepts of the healing art, demoralizing themselves and 
society to such a degree, that it became necessary for councils to 
restrain monkish vagabondage by special canons. Soon these 
abuses and corruptions became so glaring, that even the toiling 
masses noticed them. As Robert Langland had witnessed all 
these abuses, was there need of prophetic inspiration to predict 
the result ? Of course the reform could not begin with the people, 
unless the king favored it ; therefore Langland makes the king 
the prime mover, sure that the English people would join any 
king, who would abolish priestly exactions ; and further, he knew 
of the vast accumulation of wealth in the religious institutions, 
since the Council of Calcuith, A.D. 785, where the priesthood 
asked for tithes, as allowed to the Levites by the Mosaic law. 
Langland had simply studied history to such advantage as to be 
called a prophet by posterity. 

We cannot help recording here what Richard Bury, Bishop of 
Durham, says of his books : 

" They are teachers who instruct us without rod or cowhide, without scold- 
ing and anger, without asking for food or wages. If you approach them they 
sleep not ; if you look for them they do not hide themselves ; they murmur 
not if you mistake their meaning; they ridicule not if you are ignorant." 

It is said this ardent bibliophile owned more books than all the 



264 Franco- Ejiglish Period, A.D. 1 200- 1600. 

other English Bishops ; he was one of the most erudite men of 
his age ; he died 1345. 

Nicholas de Linna, a monk of Oxford, is mentioned in Hakluyt's 
celebrated work, entitled " Principal Navigations, Voyages^ Dis- 
coveries, &c, by the English Nation" as a great astronomer and 
traveler, who visited the Northern Isles (Shetland, Faroe, Iceland ?), 
and presented a chart of their situation to Edward III., 1360. 

Ralph Higden, one of the few Latin authors of this age, wrote 
il Polychronicon n (Universal Plistory), from the Creation to the 
year 1357. This valuable work, long the standard of history and 
geography, was translated into English by the learned John de 
Trevisa about 1385. As we opened this century with Extracts 
from Trevisa's version, we pass on. 

Froissart, though a native of Valenciennes, born 1337, and a 
French writer, was so closely connected with England's court 
and history, that we mention him among English authors. His 
"Chronicle" of France, England, Scotland, Spain, and Brittany, 
from 1326 to 1400, is, in a historical point of view, one of the 
most precious monuments of the Middle Ages. One of its de- 
fects is : the author saw and described only nobles, their deeds 
and fetes, without ever referring to commoners, their virtues, 
merits, and useful labors. 

As Ockham, styled the " Invincible Doctor," florished about 
this time, we must allude to his championship of ".Nominalism " 
as opposed to "Pealism." Though head of the Franciscan Or- 
der, he joined the Emperor Louis of Germany and Philippe le Bel 
of France, against Pope John XXI I., who excommunicated them. 
To escape papal persecution he took refuge with Louis, to whom 
he said, "You protect me with your sword and I will protect you 
with my pen." This fearless monk, pupil of Duns Scotus, taught 
at Oxford and Paris, and wrote books that attracted much atten- 
tion, especially one on papal power. He lived in Germany 
seventeen years, and his books, written in clear, strong Latin, 
must have greatly influenced German opinion. He prepared the 
way for Wickliffe, who took up the war where his bold predeces- 
sor had left it. No doubt his example encouraged Reformers in 
England, France, and Germany. He was born in Surrey, and 
died at Munich, A.D. 1347. He had many warm adherents, who 
were called "Ockhamites." 



FonrteentJi Century. 265 

In this age appeared a man, who, after having discovered the 
abuses and vices of his colleagues and the superstition of the 
masses, used his tongue and pen very dexterously to undermine 
them. That man was John Wickliffe, born at Wickliffe, York- 
shire, about 1324. Favored by Edward III., whose rights he 
had defended against the pretensions of Pope Gregory XL, by 
the University, which he had sustained against the monks, by 
John of Gaunt and the queen mother, who were his patrons, and 
by the Londoners, who dispersed the Synod of Bishops assembled 
at Lambeth to condemn him as a heretic, Wickliffe proclaimed, 
wrote and issued his doctrines. His opinions, being shared by 
such men as Chaucer and Langland, were destined to spread 
among a religiously inclined and inquisitive people like the Eng- 
lish. To translate the Bible into a living language was consid- 
ered an act of heresy ; yet the rebellious friar dared to turn the 
Vulgate, Apocrypha and all, into plain English, which, at that 
particular period being "forbidden fruit," awakened the most 
lively curiosity and was more extensively read than any other 
book. About A.D. 1360 he completed his version of the gos- 
pels, in which he says : 

ft So that pore Christen men may some dele know the text of the Gospel, 
with the corny n sentence of olde holie doctores." So that poor Christian men 
may to a certain degree know the text of the Gospel in the common language 
of old holy doctors. 

For making this translation Wickliffe has deservedly been called 
"the Father of English prose ;." in doing it he displayed the vast 
resources of the English idiom ; for it required the use of about 
700,000 words (as subsequently shown by James' version). He 
may justly be styled the diffuser, propagator, and popularizer of 
the English language ; for, as early as 1402, John Huss translated 
Wickliffe's Bible into Bohemian. A singular circumstance, per- 
haps unique, connected with this great reformer was, that he died 
quietly and composedly in his own bed at Lutherworth, Decem- 
ber, 1384, and not a single one of his numerous adherents, called 
" Lollards," died for their opinions, which were the germs of 
modern reforms. Priestly malice, backed by ignorance and su- 
perstition, showered upon him appellations like these : "Mirror 
of hypocrisy, misleader of the mob^ sower of hatred, inventor of 



266 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200- 1600. 

lies, limb of the JDevil" &c. But his friends surnamed Wick- 
liffe "The Morn-star of Reformation," which more than 
compensated for papal invective. Had the learned friar been 
born and lived on the continent, he would have felt the flames 
of the fagot before John Huss ; for that shadowy Dominican 
tribunal, instigated by Innocent III., would surely have found 
means to spirit him and some of his disciples away to swell the 
number of the Inquisition's martyrs. Queen Anne favored 
Wickliffe. The learned Hallam says of the writers of this era : 

"The translation of the Bible and other writings of Wickliffe taught us the 
copiousness and energy of which our native dialect was capable, and it was 
employed in the fifteenth century by two writers of distinguished merit, Bishop 
Peacock and Sir John Fortescue." 

As a specimen of Wickliffe' s style may be a novelty to most 
readers, we give it : 

" Here ye, lo a man sowinge goith out to sowe, and the while he sowith 
sum seed fel aboute the weye, and briddis of hevene camen and eeten it. other 
felde doun on stony places, where it hadde not myche erthe, and anoon it 
sprong up ; for it hadde not depnesse of erthe. and whanne the sunne roos 
up it welewide for hete, and it driede up, for it had no roote. And other 
fell doun into thornes ; and thornes sprungen up and strangliden it, and it gaf 
not fruyt ; and othere felde doun into good lond : and it gaf fruyt spryngyng 
up and wexinge, and oon broughte thritty fold, and oon sixty fold, and oon 
an hundrid fold." 

This passage contains sixty different words, of which fifty-eight 
are Gotho-Germanic and two Greco-Latin. 

Matthew of Westminster wrote "Floris Historiarum" a Uni- 
versal History from the Creation to 1307, when he died. The 
history was continued by some other hand to 1377. The erudite 
biographer Rose says of him : 

" He wrote with so scrupulous a veracity that he is never found to wander 
from the truth ; and with such diligence that he omitted nothing worthy of 
remark. He is also commended for his acuteness in tracing facts, the regu- 
larity of his plan, and his skill in chronologic computation. He is on the 
whole very highly esteemed as one of the most venerable fathers of English 
history." 

In this century three medical writers add many new words to 



Fourteenth Century. 267 

the English vocabulary : John de Gaddesden, physician to King 
Edward II., about 1320, wrote " Rosa Anglica," Lib. IV. It was 
published at Pavia, 1492, Venice, 1506 and 1516, Naples, 1508, 
which shows its popularity. John Ardern practised medicine 
and surgery at Newark and London, and wrote a valuable treatise 
on Fistula. William Guisaunt graduated at Oxford and practised 
medicine with great success. Being accused of magic, he went 
to France and settled at Marseilles, where he exercised his pro- 
fession with honor and distinction. He wrote essays on Mathe- 
matics, Astronomy, and Medicine, entitled "De Urina 11011 visa 
Circuit;" "De Motu Capitis;" "De Judicio Patientis ;" "De 
Quadraturd Circuli ;" "De Qualitatibus Astrorum ;" "De Sig- 
nificationibus Astrorum /" u De Magnitudine So/is ;" "Speculum 
Astrologies." 

Some facts not directly connected with language had such an 
effect on its development and diffusion as to deserve particular 
notice in their time and place : among these facts are such as 
tended directly to encourage English manufactures and trade, 
and indirectly to diffuse the English language. Adam Anderson, 
in his "Historic and Chronologic Deduction of the Origin of Com- 
merce" mentions how Edward III. invited Flemish cloth-weavers 
to settle in his dominions and teach their art to his subjects. 
Seventy discontented families emigrated to England about 1331, 
and founded an industry that became a great source of England's 
prosperity. True, sheep had been raised previously, and woollen 
goods manufactured all over the British Isles, especially in Ire- 
land, whose serges were sung by the Italian bard Fazio Uberti 
before 1367 ; but these manufactures never attracted the attention 
they ultimately received, till after 133 1. 

Anderson assigns the first coinage of gold in England to 1344. 
Now, England had a superior home industry, a standard medium 
of exchange, uniform measures and weights, and a united and 
enterprising population. No wonder the Exchequer of 1354 
showed ^765,644 as a balance of trade in her favor ; for she had 
the means of controlling the world's commerce and attracting the 
precious metals to her mint. By these means she subsequently 
diffused her language, literature, and influence, as may be real- 
ized by looking at the United States, Canada, India, Australia, 
South Africa, and New Zealand. 



268 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200- 1600. 

As English authors derived ideas and inspiration from Italy, 
let us glance at her early writers. Italy was more or less Gotho- 
Latin and without a distinct national dialect from the fifth to the 
thirteenth century, when her language sprang into existence from 
about 1290 to 1375, or within eighty-five years. Her early intel- 
lectual triumvirate was Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio ; Dante, 
from 1290 to 132 1, wrote "Vita Nuova" "Divhia Comedia" (i De 
Vulgari Eloquio" (a treatise on the Italian language in prose), 
and "II Convito." It seems as though the Italian language had 
no existence prior to Dante, from whose brain it issued perfect 
in "Divina Comedia." Petrarch, from 1327 to 1374, wrote three 
hundred sonnets and fifty canzoni on "Laura" among which 
"Trionfo della Morte" (Triumph of Death) is considered the 
masterpiece. Boccaccio, from 1338 to 1375, produced "II Fili- 
copo" "La Teseide," and "Decamerone" (Hundred Tales), which 
became the basis for many English works. From these founts 
Chaucer, Gower, Shakespeare, Dryden, &c, drew ideas, inspira- 
tions, and whole poems. 

Richard Cirencester, historian, geographer, and antiquarian, 
will be a variety in this age of reformers and poets. He florished 
from 1350 to 1401, when he died in the Abbey of Westminster, 
after persecution and confinement for his liberal spirit of investi- 
gation. He wrote "Historia ab Hengisto ad Ann. 1358," "Epi- 
tome Chron. Ric. Cor. West. Lib. I," now in the University 
Library of Cambridge ; "Britonum Anglorum et Saxonum His- 
toria" now in the library of the Royal Society ; also theologic 
writings, now in the Peterborough Library. But his highest 
valued work is "De Situ Britannia" found by Prof. C. J. Ber- 
tram in the Royal Marine Academy at Copenhagen, 1757. Prof. 
Bertram, who published it, says : 

"It contains many fragments of a better time, which would now in vain 
be sought for elsewhere." 

Behold a specimen from the learned monk's " De Situ Britan- 
nia;," C. VII.: 

"The different parts of Britain having been cursorily examined according 
to my original design, it seems necessary, before I proceed to a description of 
the islands, to attend to a doubt suggested by a certain person. ' Where,' 



Fourteenth Century. 269 

asks lie, ' are the vestiges of those cities and names which you commemorate ? 
There are none.' This question may be answered by another. Where are 
now the Assyrians, Parthians, Sarmatians, Celtiberians ? None will be bold 
enough 10 deny the existence of those nations. Are there not also at this 
time many countries and cities bearing the same names as they did two or 
three thousand years ago? Judea, Italy, Gaul, Britain, are as clearly known 
now as in former times ; Londinium is still styled in common language, with 
a slight change of sound, London, &c. The good abbot, indeed, had nearly 
inspired me with other sentiments, by thus seeming to address me : ' Are you 
ignorant how short a time is allotted us in this world, &c. Of what service 
are these things, but to delude the world with unmeaning trifles ? ' To these 
remarks I answer witrrpropriety : Is then every honest gratification forbidden ? 
Do not such narratives exhibit proofs of Divine Providence ? " &c. . . . 

This discussion clearly shows, that Richard's thirst for knowl- 
edge was censured by superiors, who would rather find him pray- 
ing than studying ; because the worshiper is ever more subser- 
vient than the student. Although some few hypercritics doubted 
the authenticity of this book, it is worth reading, not only on ac- 
count of its terse remarks, but of its historic and geographic acu- 
men and Laconism. Uninvestigating authors consider universal 
doubt, and writing the terms spurious, mythic, interpolation, &c, 
as marks of scholarship and thoroughness. 

Geoffrey Chaucer was born in London, 1328. Oxford and 
Cambridge both claim him as among their alumni. It is said he 
studied law at the Temple, but soon left it for the court, where 
he became page and armor-bearer to Edward III., whom he ac- 
companied to the war. Lately an entry was found in the British 
archives, that King Edward paid, March 1, 1360, £l6 towards 
the ransom of the poet Chaucer, who had been taken prisoner. 
Chancer early devoted himself to the study of languages, was 
employed as ambassador, and visited France and Italy. Lie ac- 
companied the Duke of Clarence to Genoa, and was present at 
his marriage with Violante, daughter of Galeazzo, Duke of Milan. 
He probably met Petrarch, as he mentions him in his works. 
King Edward made Chaucer his " poet-laureate." He married 
Philippa Rouet, maid of honor to the queen and sister to the 
Duchess of Lancaster. Chaucer's prosperous career changed 
under Richard II. ; he favored Wickliffe's doctrines, yet was un- 
molested during Edward's reign. About 1382 he was accused of 
heresy and fled to the Netherlands, whence he secretly returned 



270 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200- 1600. 

to raise money, was seized and thrown into prison, from which he 
was not released till he recanted. For a time he was in actual 
want ; but when his noble relative and patron, John of Gaunt, 
Duke of Lancaster, rose to power under Henry IV., the poet 
was restored to favor and retired to Donnington Castle, county 
of Berks, where he revised his previous writings, composed his 
chef-d'oeuvre, "Canterbury Tales" about 1390, devoted himself to 
his favorite science, astronomy, wrote his "Treatise on the Astro- 
labe" and died in his native city, London, while on a visit, Oct. 
25, 1400. 

Chaucer's career was unique ; the occasion and the man were 
both remarkable. Before his day the Anglo-Saxon and French 
idioms had been warring for two centuries ; he saw that the two 
languages must be harmonized ; his natural abilities fitted him, 
and his education trained him for the work ; he had lived abroad 
and was familiar with the best modes of expression in the polished 
courts of Europe, and he had the poet's instinct to guide him in 
the graceful use of words. His social position made him an 
authority with the court and all scholars ; the masses he charmed ; 
he was very popular, hence his success ; for in one lifetime he 
polished the rude frame-work of his native idiom, enriched and 
embellished it with the best French expressions. As long as the 
language lives it will retain the words Chaucer engrafted upon it. 
He was not only the "Father of English Poetry" but he should 
be styled the father of the English language : from his day forth 
its great future became apparent. 

In early life Chaucer wrote " Court of Love" "House of Fame" 
"Legend of Good Women" "Testainent of Love" "Troylus ana 
Cresseide." His "Raumaunt of the Rose" is a translation of 
(l Roman de la Rose." About 1360 he translated into Franco- 
English "De Consolatione Philosophies" which Alfred the Great 
had translated into Anglo-Saxon about 890. It is said he derived 
his "Canterbury Tales" from Boccaccio's "Hundred Tales" 
called "Deca?neron" and that his "Knight" s Tale" is but a ver- 
sion of the same author's "La Teseide." 

The following are a few of the many eulogies from an appre- 
ciative posterity : 

" In all his works he excelleth, in my opinion, all other writers in our Eng- 
lish ; for he writeth not in void-words, but all his matter is full of high and 






Fourteenth Century. 271 

quick sentence, to whom ought to be given laud and praise for his noble 
making and writing." — Caxton, 1474. 

" It will conduct you to a hillside; laborious indeed at the first ascent, but 
else so smooth, so green, so full of goodly prospects and melodious sounds on 
every side, that the harp of Orpheus was not more charming." — Milton, 1650. 

" He is a perpetual fountain of good sense, learning, and all sciences ; and 
therefore speaks properly on all subjects. As he is the Father of English 
Poetry, so I hold him in the same degree of honor as the Grecians held Ho- 
mer, or the Romans Virgil." — Diyden, 1690. 

"I take unceasing delight in Chaucer." — Coleridge, 1830. 

" The principal ornament of our English literature was Geoffrey Chaucer, 
who, along with Dante and Petrarch, fills up the triumvirate of great poets in 
the Middle Ages." — Hallam, 1859. 

" For many a happy hour and bright remembrance, we thank thee, dear 
Chaucer, and just thanks shalt thou receive a thousand years hence." — W. 
Howitt, 1 86 1. 

"Never has English life been painted in more glowing hues than by Chau- 
cer." — Oliphant, 1873. 

After the lapse of four hundred and seventy-five years the last ex- 
pression of appreciation and gratitude is warmer and more hearty 
than the first. The poet must have had great comfort in his family : 
his son, Thomas Chaucer, became Speaker of the House of Com- 
mons, and his daughter Alice married the Duke of Suffolk. 

To enable our readers to survey the vast progress the English 
idiom made during this century, we give a Table of 100 words 
culled from hundreds of French vocables in Chaucer's " Canter- 
bury Tales P As they belong to various departments of speech, 
literature, art, and science, and were ingeniously blended with 
the Anglo- Saxon dialect, which had the words for articles of pri- 
mary necessities, the amalgam constituted so rich and varied a 
vocabulary that Anglo-Saxons, Franco-Normans, and Celts be- 
came more and more reconciled to their regenerated language. 
Readers would do well to direct their attention to these Greco- 
Latin roots, thoroughly Frenchified by their terminations. What 
is most remarkable is, that many of these words are to-day 
(1878) exactly the same, in both English and French, as the 
writer penned them in his works four hundred and seventy-five 
years ago. On this account alone Chaucer's works challenge 
the attention of all, who have the curiosity to trace the birth 
and childhood of the English tongue; for he was, not only the 
poet and literatus, but the consummate linguist of his epoch. 



2J2 



Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200- 1600. 






I 1 
■a 3 

I* 



1- 

•3 12 

1-1 
H 

II 
^ % s 





iniquite" 

hberte' 
morality 
necessite" 
possibility 
prosperite 
quantite" 
superfluity 

vanite" 

geometrie 

philologie 

philosophie 

charge 

change 

double 

humble 

table 
noblesse 
second 
blame 
possible 
fortune 
theatre 
flatter 
accord 
obstacle 

gain 
muscle 
general 
regard 
prose 
fruit 
refuge 


00 
00 

'3b 

3 

w 


iniquity 
liberty 
morality 
necessity 
possibility 
prosperity 
quantity 
superfluity 

vanity 

geometry 

philology 

philosophy 

charge, n. & v. 

change, n. & v. 

double, adj. & v. 

humble, adj. & v. 

table 

nobless 

second, adj. & v. 

blame, n. & v. 

possible 

fortune 

theatre 

flatter 

accord, n. & v. 

obstacle 

gain, n. & v. 

muscle 

general, n. & adj. 

regard, n. & v. 

prose 

fruit 

refuge 


French words as in- 
troduced into English 
by Chaucer from 
1350 to 1400 : 


iniqiiitee 

libertie 

moralite 

necessite 

possibilitee 

prosperitee 

quantitee 

superfluitee 

vanitee 

geometrie 

philologie 

philosophie 

charge 

change 

double 

humble 

table 

noblesse 

second 

blame 

possible 

fortune 

theatre 

flatter 

accord 

obstacle 

gain 
muscle 
general 
regard 
prose 
fruit 
refuge 




sacrilege 
guide 
robe 
force 
danger 
pardon 
cause 

air 

volume 

point 

honneur 

auditeur 

clameur 

couleur 

conquerant 

cr^ateur 

docteur 

empereur 

gouverneur 

labeur 

se'nateur 

curieux 

pr^cieux 

vigueur 

adversity 

beaute' 

chastete" 

dignite" 

affinite" 

faculte" 

felicity 

fraternite" 

infirmity 


CO 

.5 

w 


sacrilege 
guide, n. & v. 

robe 

force, n. & v. 

danger 

pardon, n. & v. 

cause, n. & v. 

air, n. & v. 

volume 

point, n. & v. 

honor, n. & v. 

auditor 

clamor 

color, n. & v. 

conqueror 

creator 

doctor, n. & v. 

emperor 

governor 

labor, n. & v. 

senator 

curious 

precious 

vigor 
adversity 
beauty 
chastity 
dignity 
affinity 
faculty 
felicity 
fraternity 
infirmity 


French words as in- 
troduced into English 
by Chaucer from 
1350 to 1400 : 


sacrilege 

guide 
robe 

force 

danger 

pardon 

cause 
air 

volume 
point 

honour 
auditour 
clamour 

colour 

conquerour 

creaiour 

dociour 
emperour 
governuur 

labour 
senatour 

curious 
precious 

vigour 
adversitee 
beautee 
chastitee 
dignitee 
afiinitee 

faculte 

felicite 
fraternite 
infirmitee 




5°° 

u " 

fa 


action 
division 
region 
instrument 
talent 
present 

cage 
image 
village 
creature 
figure 
nature 
justice 
sacrifice 

vice 

discipline 

doctrine 

famine 

mine 

franchise 

surprise 

latitude 

multitude 

face 

place 

ignorance 

observance 

diligence 

presence 

silence 

prologue 

art 
college 
privilege 


00 

00 
_c 

! Xi 

To 

c 

w 


action 

division 

region 

instrument 

talent 

present, n.,v. &adj. 

cage, n. & v. 

image 

village 

creature 

figure, n. & v. 

nature 

justice 

sacrifice, n. & v. 

vice 

discipline, n. & v. 

doctrine 

famine 

mine, n. & v. 

franchise 

surprise, n. & v. 

latitude 

multitude 

face, n. & v. 

place, n. & v. 

ignorance 

observance 

diligence 

presence 

silence, n. & v. 

prologue 

art 
college 
privilege 


French words as in- 
troduced into English 
by Chaucer from 
1350 to 1400 : 


action 

division 

region 

instrument 

talent 

present 

cage 

image 

village 

creature 

figure 

nature 

iustice 

sacrifice 

vice 

discipline 

doctrine 

famine 

mine 

franchise 

surprise 

latitude 

multitude 

face 

place 

ignorance 

observance 

diligence 

presence 

silence 

prologue 

art 

college 

privilege 



FourteeiitJi Century. 273 

Some practical observations on the above Table may prove 
not only useful, but interesting, showing as they will the gradual 
development of the English language from 1350. First let readers 
observe that, in adopting many of these 100 words, the idiom ac- 
quired in one and the same word a noun and a verb, as : cause, 
n. and v. ; cha?ige, n. and v. ; charge, n. and v. ; force, n. and v. ; 
gain, n. and v. ; sacrifice, n. and v. ; surprise, n. and v. Also an 
adjective and verb, as : double, adj. and v. ; humble, adj. and v. ; 
second, adj. and v. ; and even a noun, adjective, and verb, in one 
and the same word: present, n., adj. and v., besides presently, 
adv., to say nothing of presence. These words, mostly mono- 
syllables and dissyllables, have certainly proved a rich linguistic 
legacy, of whose value Robert of Gloucester, 1280, Robert Man- 
ning, 1305, Sir John Mandeville, 1380, Sir John Gower, 1390, 
and Chaucer, 1395, did not dream, when they first penned them 
for their dialect, thereby rendering it terse and telegraphic. 

The following order of words, classified by terminations, will 
yet more fully illustrate the above Table and show the Greco- 
Latin fountain, from which the framers of English drew : 

1st. There are about 11 73 French nouns ending in ion. Most of 
these were formed from the Latin by dropping is of the geni- 
tive, as : actio, gen. actionis, Fr. action ; divisio, gen. divisi- 
onis, Fr. divisio?i ; regio, gen. regionis, Fr. region. 

td. The suffix ent terminates about 719 French nouns, most of 
which are derived from two Latin sources by dropping urn, 
as: instrumentum, talentum, Fr. instrument, talent; also by 
dropping is from the genitive of the present participle, as : 
praesens, gen. prozsentis, Fr. present. 

3d. There are 374 French nouns ending in age ; as this suffix 
has been added to Latin, Germanic, and Celtic roots, I shall 
attempt no derivation ; most English words ending in age are 
French. 

4th. The 305 French nouns ending in ure, were formed from the 
Latin by changing a into e, as: creatura, figura, natura, 
Fr. creature, figure, nature. 

5th. About 164 French nouns terminate in ance. They are 
mostly derived from the Latin by altering tia into ce, as : 
ignorantia, observantia, Fr. ignorance, observance. 



274 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200- 1600. 

6th. The suffix ine terminates about 157 French nouns, most of 
which were formed from the Latin by changing a into e y as : 
disciplina, doctrina, Fr. discipli?ie, doctrine. 

7th. The 142 French nouns ending in ice were derived from the 
Latin by altering Ha,, cium, Hum, into ce, as : justitia, sacri- 
ficium, vitium, Fr. justice, sacrifice, vice. 

8th. About 134 French nouns in ence were formed from the 
Latin by changing tia and Hum into ce, as : prczsentia, si- 
lentiwn, Fr. presence, silence. 

9th. As the 49 nouns in ise, as : surprise, enterprise, &c, are 
purely French, we pass to 

10th. 47 French nouns in ude, mostly derived from the Latin by 
altering into e, as : latitudo, multitudo, Fr. latitude, multi- 
tude. 

nth. 38 nouns in ide, as guide, &c, seem to be purely French. 

1 2th. There are 27 French nouns in ogue, some of which were 
formed from Latin by changing s into e, as : prologus, cato- 
logus, &c, Fr. prologue, catalogue. 

13th. 24 French nouns in art were derived from the Latin by 
dropping is of the genitive, as : ars, gen. artis, Fr. art, &c. 

14th. 12 French nouns in ege were formed from the Latin by 
changing ium into e, as : collegium, &c, Fr. college, &c. So 
were prestige formed from prcestigice and vestige from ves- 
tigium. 

15th. Seven French nouns in obe were formed from Latin by 
altering us into e, as : globus, lobus, &c, Fr. globe, lobe, &c. 
Robe seems of Celtic origin : Irish roba ; English in Chau- 
cer's time, robe ; Fr. robe ; It. roba and robe ; Sp. ropa and 
Port, roupa. It seems this word found its way from Ireland 
to England, and thence to the continent. 

16th. Seven French nouns in orce were formed from Latin by 
turning tis and Hum into ce, as : fortis, divortiu??i, &c, Fr. 
force, divorce, &c. 

17th. We pass to a class of French nouns ending in our, which 
were originally taken into the language from Latin and u 
added to suit the Franco-Gallic tongue or ear. They are 
in the Table as we found them in Chaucer. The French 
have since changed the our into eur, which is now the 
suffix of 1,234 French nouns. English and American lexico- 



Fourteenth Century. 275 

graphers have been discussing the propriety of relatinizing 
these vocables by dropping u. About 1840 the practical N. 
Webster omitted u from all of them, and ninety-nine per 
cent, of his countrymen said Amen ! Oliphant, in his 
"Sources of Standard English" (1873), speaks quite senti- 
mentally of American irreverence in dropping u from honour, 
saying : 

" Our English honour, the French honure or honncur, takes us back eight 
hundred years to the bloody day, big with our island's doom, when French 
knights were charging up the slope of Senlac again and again, striving to break 
the stubborn shield-wall. The word honure, which had already thriven in 
Gaul eleven hundred years, must have been often in the conquerors' mouths, 
all through those long weary hours. It was one of the first French words we 
afterwards admitted to English citizenship, &c. If we change it into honor, 
we pare down its history and we lower it to the level of the many Latin words 
that came in at the Reformation, &c. Let our kinsmen, like ourselves, turn 
from changes utterly useless, that spoil a word's pedigree." 

This effusion seems not only inconsistent, but contradictory in 
language and sentiment. To be consistent the learned gentle- 
man should have written conquerours and not "conquerors ;" for 
those same French knights, who shouted honour at Senlac, were 
conquerours. The erudite author probably knows what his illus- 
trious predecessour, Walker, says in his " Critical Pronouncing 
Dictio7iary and Expositor of the English Language" under the 
word honour ; but as some of our readers may not know, we 
quote : 

" This word and its companion, favour, have so generally dropped the u, 
that to spell these words with that letter is looked upon os gauche and rustick 
in the extreme. In vain did Dr. Johnson enter his protest against the inno- 
vation ; in vain did he tell us, that the sound of the word required the u, as well 
as its derivation from the Latin through the French ; the sentence seems to have 
been passed, and we now hardly ever find these words with this vowel but in our 
Dictionaries. But, though I am a declared enemy to all needless innovation, I 
see no inconvenience in spelling these words in the fashionable manner ; there is 
no reason for preserving the u in honour and favour, that does not hold good 
for the preservation of the same letter in errour, authotir,z.v,& a hundred others. " 

Oliphant' s expressions, " pare down " a word " and lower it to 
the level of Latin," seem strange coming from a scholar; for as 
soon as a linguist finds a Latin origin to any word, he rests. 
Hallam, after contemplating the linguistic chaos of the middle 



2j6 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200-1600. 

ages, exclaimed : "The sole hope for literature depended on the 
Latin language." If the erudite author of "Standard English" 
would look at Latin as his distinguished countryman Hallam did, 
he might see fit to change " pare down and lower to the level of 
Latin," so as to read : build up and raise to the level of Latin. 

18th. A numerous class of French adjectives in eux were formed 
from Latin adjectives ending in osus and tiosus, by changing 
osus into eux and tiosus into cieux, as Lat. curiosus, Fr. 
curieux ; Lat. pretiosus, Fr. precieux. From these French 
adjectives Chaucer derived English adjectives by altering eux 
into ous, as Fr. curieux, precieux; Eng. curious, precious, 
&c, in which is as useless as in honour ^ favour, &c. 

19th. There are 512 French nouns ending now in te, which orig- 
inally ended in te or tee without the accent. Chaucer intro- 
duced many of them into his works, from among which we 
quote twenty in the Table ; the importance and extent of 
meaning of these twenty words, in a religious, moral, and 
social point of view, prove Chaucer a man of deep thought 
and great ideality. The term affinity alone, involving zoo- 
logic, chemic and cosmic relations, to say nothing of felicity, 
possibility, liberty, vanity, &c, &c, would stamp any book 
of that early epoch with peculiar interest for the scholar, 
philosopher, and scientist. Each of these twenty vocables 
has an expansive mental range. 

These 512 words were mostly formed from Latin by chang- 
ing as into e, thus : charitas, fraternitas, snperfluitas, &c. 
Fr. charite, fraternite, superfiuite, &c. Within the last 300 
years the French placed an acute accent over the final e to 
determine its sound and distinguish it from final e mute, as : 
adversiie, beaute, prosperity, &c. The English changed the 
e or ee into y to determine its sound and distinguish it from 
e mute, as : dignity, morality, quantity, &c. 

20th. Another class of important French nouns, terminating in 
ie, mostly names of sciences, were derived from the Greek 
or Latin by changing a into e, as : dsTpovofxia, Lat. astrono- 
mia, Fr. astronomie ; y^o^rpia, Lat. geometria, Fr. geome- 
tric ; cja\osocf>La, Lat. philosophia, Fr. philosophic, &c. These 
words are now in French as they were when first introduced. 



Fourteenth Ce?itury. 277 

The English changed ie into y ; but we see by Chaucer and 
his cotemporaries, that they were adopted into English as 
they are now found in French. In German these words 
have the French termination, and are usually identical with 
the French, which facilitates English, French, and German 
scientific works for readers, and renders the ancient and 
modern European languages more accessible to Arabian, 
Hindoo, Chinese, Japanese, Polynesian, and African stu- 
dents. 

We might continue dry explanations of this important Table, 
showing the early linguistic and mental connection between 
France and England, while the historian of events could trace a 
sad picture of war and destruction of life and property. What 
strange action and reaction in human affairs ! while bloodshed 
and devastation are raging, linguistic and intellectual progress 
seem to thrive. How fortunate human passions do not and 
cannot reach the innermost recesses of man's mental and spiritual 
life, experience and progress ! 

While reading Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" contained in a 
duodecimo volume of 583 pages, we copied about 2,340 differ- 
ent words introduced from the French, all nouns, verbs, or ad- 
jectives, words of inherent meaning, from which we took the 100 
words in the above Table. Two thousand vocables of such lofty 
meaning and expansive scope are a treasure to any dialect. 
They are the essence of Greek and Latin thought and musing, to 
say nothing of the new meanings and applications extended to 
many of them by modern science. Most of them figure in, and 
grace every leading European language. ' 

The above French words, classed by terminations, number 
about 6,000, most of which have been introduced into English. 

Stephen Skinner accuses Chaucer of having introduced a 
u cart-load of foreign words into English;" perhaps he did, and 
if so, it may be considered a valuable and excellent cart-load. 

We have somewhat at length explained part of the vocabulary, 
taken into English by Chaucer from Latin, through the French j 
now let us look at the less abstract Angjo-Saxon words, modified 
by him to suit the coming idiom. Chaucer had evidently sur- 
veyed the chaotic spelling of the various shires, where impractical 



278 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200- 1600. 

monks wrote according to their whim, not only without national 
standard, but without the slightest consistency, penning one and 
the same word two and three times differently on the same page, 
so that the French-speaking population could not and would not 
follow their capricious jargon. Chaucer, after rendering himself 
master of the situation as to Anglo-Saxon, French, and Latin, 
resolved to bring some order out of this confusion : first he 
dropped the thirty-four senseless inflections of the Anglo-Saxon 
definite article, and replaced all by the one invariable mono- 
syllabic word the. To complete this part of speech in his native 
tongue, he introduced a as an indefinite article. Also the seven 
inflections to denote the gender, number, and case of adjectives 
disappeared. The ninety-seven absurd changes of the personal 
and possessive pronouns he reduced to about twenty-one. Of 
the twenty-three inflections that marked the gender, number, and 
case, in the demonstrative pronoun, he retained but two : this 
and thise (now these). As the above parts of speech : ai'ticle, 
noun, adjective, and pronoun, constituted all declinable Anglo- 
Saxon words, let us add that Chaucer dropped the inflections and 
substituted the invariable particles of, from, to, in, by, and with, 
to denote the genitive, dative, and accusative, which obviates 
declension in English. To form the plural of nouns, he adopted 
the French rule, "add s to the singular." Who can, who will 
regret the dropping of complications that were remains of primi- 
tive times, caprice, and ignorance ? A similar clearage would be 
of immense advantage to the German language, with its compli- 
cated declensions of articles, nouns, adjectives, and pronouns, to 
say nothing of its perplexing formation of the plurals in both 
nouns and adjectives. Again, adjectives are differently declined 
when preceded by the defifiite or indefinite article, whereas, with- 
out the article they assume the inflections of the definite article. 
Could there be anything more arbitrary, not to say trifling ? 
Scholars know how Greek and Latin teem with inflections as to 
declension, gender, number, conjugation, mood, tense, person. 
Yet German is not less perplexing : Though it has three genders, 
girl (Mddchen) is neuter; boy (Knabe), masculine; door (Thiir), 
feminine ; house (Haus), neuter ; dog (Hu/id), masculine ; horse 
(Pferd), neuter ; sun {Sonne) and Earth (Erde), are feminine ; 
moon (Mond) and star (Stem) are masculine ; head (Haupt), 



Fourteenth Century. 279 

brain (Him), ear (O/ir), leg (Fein) and knee (Knie) are neuter ; 
neck (Hals), arm (Arm), linger (Finger), and foot (Fuss) are 
masculine ; hand (Hand), nose (Afor^), liver (Leber), and toe 
(Ze/ie) are feminine. French has but two genders : hence nouns, 
that are neither male nor female, must be either masculine or 
feminine : sun (soleil) and planet (plauete) are masculine — while 
moon (lune) and Earth (terre) are feminine ; head (tete), spleen 
(rate) and hand (main) are feminine — while brain (cerveau), liver 
(foie), and foot (pied), are masculine ; paper (papier) and book 
(livre) are masculine — while pen (plwne) and ink (encre) are 
feminine. We might continue this series of inconsistency and 
contradiction ad infinitum, but let this suffice to show what Chau- 
cer did for his native tongue, in removing like gram matic absurd- 
ities five centuries ago. 

The verb, usually the most complicated part of speech, the 
Father of English simplified and improved thus : the termination 
an of the Anglo-Saxon infinitive, as shown in a preceding Table, 
is not to be found in Chaucer's works ; but unaccountably he 
tried in some verbs to replace this venerable Gothic inflection, 
dating back to Ulfilas' version of the Bible A.D. 376, by the 
obscure Germanic en ; even French verbs, as multiplien, travail- 
left, &c, appear in this Germanic dress, which, to say the least 
of it, looks extremely grotesque in "Canterbury Tales." How- 
ever, this fancy being no practical improvement to the English 
idiom, posterity dropped, while they retained most of his other 
changes. 

It would seem as though Schiller, Goethe, Herder, or Bopp — 
Racine, Corneille, Thierry, or Burnouf might, like Chaucer, have 
simplified their native tongues by removing some, if not all of 
the above complications and incongruities. 

Anglo-Saxon and Dano-Saxon writers used different inflections 
for one and the same tense, as : A. S. ic-luf-ige — D. S. ic luf-iga, 
for which Chaucer substituted the simple I love. Now imagine 
a dialect with but one form for the present and future — such was 
Anglo-Saxon, in which ic luf-ige meant both / love and / shall 
love. Chaucer supplied this want by using shal with the infini- 
tive, as : / shal love, &c. He also replaced the cumbersome 
Anglo-Saxon inflections : ode, odest and odon of the imperfect and 
perfect participle by the simple and concise English ed, as : ic 



28o Franco-English Period, A.D. 1200-1600. 
1 

luf-ode, thu luf-odest, he luf-ode, 7ve, ge, hi luf-odon, geluf-odon ; 
English /, you, he, we, you, they loved. For the lengthy termi- 
nations of the present participle ande, aende, ende, i?ide, onde, 
unde or ynde, as found in the different provincialisms, Chaucer 
substituted the nasal ing, which must have gladdened the Franco- 
Norman without saddening the Anglo-Saxon speaking population. 
We are sorry he did not make the Anglo-Saxon irregular verbs 
regular ; he might have done it at that time, with the same ease 
and grace with which he effected all the above linguistic improve- 
ments. He deserves the thanks of the English-speaking popu- 
lations all over the globe, that he did not saddle English with 
four complicated conjugations, as the framers of French incum- 
bered their language, because the Latin had four. 

Since, Chaucer's useless u was dropped from such words as doc- 
tour, fir of essour, perdicioun, &c, and the words were simplified 
and relatinized ; final e and ie in such words asfelicite, fihilologie, 
&c, were replaced by y, so that now there are no unpronounced 
letters. Such alterations are practical and sensible ; for unpro- 
nounced letters are to language what parasites are to animals and 
plants. At least one-half of the words of the English language 
have such parasites. It would seem that some plan might be 
adopted to lessen the number of these useless letters, or at least 
indicate them in such a way that the books now in our libraries 
might be still used and read as well as those of the improved 
method. Chaucer dropped on from beon and used be as we have 
it now. 

It was a real surprise to me to find that Chaucer introduced, 
not only the odd compounds ight and ought in such words as 
might, night, drought, thought, &c, but even aught in caught, 
draught, &c. That these three strange combinations have trav- 
ersed nearly five centuries and are still used, is positive proof of 
Chaucer's great influence and popularity. Neither did I expect 
to see the word philologie in Chaucer's works : but there it is. 
Thus did the pioneer bard enrich the Greco-Latin and dishar- 
monize the Anglo-Saxon part of England's tongue. Now for 
another Chaucer to harmonize letter and sound in, and remove 
the few remaining irregularities from, the English language ! 

Sir John Gower, whom both Wales and Yorkshire claim as 
offspring, was born about 1320. Caxton, almost cotemporary 



Fourteenth Century. 281 

(1412), assigns him to the former, Leland (1500) to the latter. 
He was of good family and bred to the law at the Middle Temple. 
He was the author of three books, the titles of which are en- 
graved on his tomb at St. Mary Overy's Church : "Speculum 
Meditaniis" (Mirror of One Meditating); "Vox Ctamantis" 
(Voice of One Crying), and " Confessio Amantis" (Confession of 
One Loving), the latter of which was issued among the first books 
printed in England by Caxton, 1483. The two former have not 
been printed. Gower wrote in English, French, and Latin. 
Warton, in his " History of English Poetry," pronounces his 
French sonnets the best of his writings : they are entitled " Cin- 
quante Balades." We do not consider Gower' s French as clear 
and distinct as that written in the days of William the Conqueror. 
He was a favorite of King Richard IT., at whose suggestion he 
wrote " Confessio A mantis." It is said, while sailing together in 
the royal barge on the Thames, Richard asked Gower "to book 
some new thing," which desire thus expressed, was the occasion 
of the "Lover's Confession." The idea and plan of this poem 
was taken from one of Boccaccio's Tales, modernized by Dryden 
about 1690. Towards the sunset of life the poet became blind. 
Gower's style is thus commended: 

"The first of our authors, who can properly be said to have written Eng- 
lish, was Sir John Gower." — fohnson. 

"The tranquil elegance of Gower." — f. D" 1 Israeli. 

"He is always polished, sensible and perspicuous." — Hallam. 

As it is ever edifying to witness harmony among cotemporary 
grandees, we will mention the lifelong friendship between Gower 
and Chaucer. From what they mutually express to and write of 
each other, it appears that Gower considered Chaucer as his pu- 
pil, and Chaucer treats Gower as his senior and teacher. In his 
" Confessio Amantis" Gower desires Venus to communicate to 
Chaucer these fatherly lines : 

u And grete wel Chaucer, when ye mete, 
As my disciple and my poete : 
For in the flowers of his youth, 
In sundry wise, as he well couthe, 
Of ditees and of songes glade 
The which he for my sake made." 



282 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1 200-1600. 

Thus tenderly and courteously Chaucer returned this fatherly 
compliment, by dedicating to the veteran poet his "Troilus and 
Cresseide : " 

O ! moral Gower ! This boke I direct 
To thee, &c. 

It is pleasant to contemplate across hundreds of years a 
friendship so delicately expressed. Where could we find a pen- 
dant to this touching picture in more modern times, when men 
go, come, eat, drink, and live fast ? I am aware that some mod- 
ern critics, fond of gossip, tried to discover a quarrel between 
these ancient bards, whose writings, as above quoted, are a 
standing contradiction to such scandal-makers. We close our 
humble account of the two great Medieval English bards with 
this highly appropriate compliment from Pettit Andrews : 

" To penetrate the mists which balefully lowered over the English tongue, 
the brightness of a Chaucer, the accuracy of a Gower were needed, and those 
constellations were not yet visible." 

During this century Asia was in a state of transition : the re- 
gions where the Arians, Bactrians, Scythians, Sacians, Germans, 
Hindus, Assyrians, Medes, Persians, Hebrews, Arabians, Greeks, 
and Romans, had dwelled, fought, and intermixed for ages, were 
invaded by the Mongolians or Tartars under Tamerlane, who 
started from his capital, Samarcand, A.D. 1369, conquered Per- 
sia, India, Syria, Asia Minor, Armenia, and penetrated into Rus- 
sia as far as Moscow. Soon the Turks of Asia Minor, and Arabs 
of Damascus, Bagdad, and Delhi, acknowledged Tamerlane's 
sway ; but his progeny amalgamated with and became Mahomet- 
ans, who put an end to the Greek Empire and ruled since over 
southern and western Asia, southeastern Europe and northern 
Africa. Now only the Turks are likely to be expelled from 
Europe by the descendants of those Russians, whose country 
Tamerlane invaded four centuries ago. Tamerlane claimed 
descent from Jengis Khan, who conquered China, A.D. 12 13. 
Thus did the progeny of the Scythians or Scoloti* spread over 

* Herodotus, B. IV., 6 and 7. 



Fourteenth Century. 283 

China, Southern and Western Asia and Europe, whence a mixed 
Scytho-Gotho-Germanic, Celtic, and Greco-Latin race expanded 
over America, India, Oceanica, and the greater part of Africa. 
When we consider this long intermingling of tribes, nations, 
and races, we can hardly wonder that Sanscrit, Semitic, Greco- 
Latin, Celtic, Scytho-Gotho-Germanic, and Sclavonic roots are 
found in Earth's leading languages. The English-speaking pop- 
ulations have done much to extend their idiom. They took from 
the Mahometan Tartars Zoroaster's fifteenth " Region of Beati- 
tude," called " Hapta Hendu "' (seven rivers), now Punjab, 
whence, ages ago, our Arian ancestors spread over Ariavarta, 
India and Ceylon, formed the Sanscrit language and wrote the 
Vedas. They conquered and acquired the jarring elements of 
Brahma, Buddha and Moslem, and erected the whole into a grand 
empire under the tolerant and benign rule of Christ's Ethics, 
where each can thrive and progress in its own way, protected by 
"Magna Charta." So in America, English expanded over Cali- 
fornia, Texas, Alaska, Canada, Jamaica, &c, where progress is 
encouraged under Magna Charta and "government by consent." 
History mentions Tamerlane as a quasi monster. Since we 
read his autobiography (which is worth perusal) we changed our 
opinion concerning him ; especially when Gibbon tells us : 

"Tamerlane might boast that, at his accession to the throne, Asia was the 
prey of anarchy and rapine, whilst under his prosperous monarchy, a child, 
fearless and unhurt, might carry a purse of gold from east to west." 

In his "Middle Ages," Hallam thus portrays England's status 
in the fourteenth century : 

" The Barons, without perhaps one exception, and a large proportion of 
the gentry, were of French descent, and preserved among themselves the 
speech of their fathers. This continued longer than one should naturally 
have expected." 

Extracts and Tables from the seven Franco -English authors, 
Robert Manni?ig, Adam Davie, Langland, Mandeville, Gower, 
Chaucer, and Prayers of the fourteenth century, showing their 
style and the numeric origin of their vocabulary : 



284 Franco -English Period, A.D. 1 200-1 600. 



Extract fro?n Robert Manning's* trafislation of Peter La?igtoffs 
French Chronicle into Franco-English. This version is 
sometimes called Manning 1 s "Rhyming Chronicle " A. D. 1303. 

11 After the Paske's wele that thise men were thus schent, 1 
The Kyng at Caiiele held his Parlement. 
Fro Rome a Cardinalle the Pape thider sent, 
To wite 2 the sothe 3 alle the mariage long of ment. 4 
If the Prince mot 5 haue the King's douhter of France, 
The acorde and pes 6 mot sauve thorgh that aliance, 
And at the Parlement was a grete spekyng, 
For the clergie it ment of holy kirke' s thing. 
Erles and Barons, ilkone 7 it forsuore, 
For what manere resons git wot 8 I no more, 
Bot of the last ende of ther grete counsaile, 
To London suld 9 the sende men that myght auaile, 10 
To speke and purueie 11 whilk 12 suld ouer the se, 
The sothe to Philip seie, 13 and sette a certeynte 
Of that mariage, how and whan suld be, 
And bate 14 alle other outrage, for Gascoyn do feaute. 15 
Of alle the poyntes spoken the parties bifore had said, 
Neuer suld be broken on payne there on was laid. 
And whan the parties wold mak a finalle pes, 
God grante it tham to hold the conant 16 that thei ches. 17 
Git gos Kyng Robyn forth ls in his rioterie, 
Ne corn not git his fyn to ende of his folie. 
Bot Sir Jon de Waleis taken was in a pleyn," &c. 
195 common words, among which 



The 






occurs 


18 times. 


have, 


aux. occurs 


I times. 


a 








tt 


4 


<< 


shall, 


ti tt 


4 " 


of 








it 


8 


tt 


will, 


tt tt 


1 " 


to 








tt 


6 


u 


may, 


a tt 


2 " 


from 








tt 


i 


tt 


do, 


tt tt 


" 


in 








tt 





tt 


that 


tt 


4 " 


with 








tt 





n 


and 


tt 


8 " 


by 








tt 





a 






— 


Pron. 


of 


I St 


pers. 


tt 


1 


a 






70 




<( 


2d 


«< 


tt 





a 




other particles, 


31 




<« 


3d 


tt 


tt 


9 


tt 








be, aux. 






tt 


3 


a 






101 particles. 



Hence, Manning's style requires 195 common words to furnish 100 different 
words, and averages about fifty-two per cent, particles and forty-nine per 
cent, repetitions. 



1 troubled. 


4 meant. 


7 each one. 


2 know. 


6 might. 


8 know. 


8 truth. 


6 peace. 


9 should. 



10 avail. 



11 



provide, 
who. 



16 say. 

14 abate. 

15 fealty. 



16 covenant. 

17 chose. 

18 fine. 



* Also known as Robert of Brunne. 



Fourteenth Century. 



285 



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S3 § 








< 

ft* 



w 

E-i 

y 


1 
Si 


S 1 


ft u a> 
v. ~ ft 

^ 8"8 


d .s 1 






P« rt § 

s13 .H 


^ 


W 






* 




ro 


«g| -a 


1 


53 

PL, 

< 

>-> 

6 

< 










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IS 















P^ e J e 

t-1 .„ rC {(J 


*fti 




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1 

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.5 w M <u 




< 
u. 

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4 


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W S — « 0/ %> di b « 4 tl mH ID *■ 

a-a-g^ ^ j: 3 &g^5 ^ 1 a a 3 i fi^ 


S.g vQ 

■sill 

4115 J 





< 

6 

u 
< 

s 

H 


-a 




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Til 9 


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6 


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286 Franco- English Period^ A.D. 1200- 1600. 

Extract from Adam Davie's "Gest or Romance of Alexander ," 
written about 13 12. We copy from Thomas Wartoti's "His- 
tory of English Poetry" Vol. I., p. ccviii. L. E., 1824. 

" Barounes weore whilom wys and Gode, 
That this ars wel understode : 
Ac on ther was Neptanamous 
Wis in this ars and malicious : 
"Whan kyng other eorl cam on him to weorre 
Quyk he loked in the steorre ; 
Of wax made him popetts, 
And made heom fyzhte with battes : 
And so he learned, je vous dy, 
Ay to aquelle hys enemye, 
With charms and with conjurisons : 
Thus he asaied the regiouns, 
That him cam for to asaile, 
In puyr manyr of bataile ; 
By cler candel in the nyzt, 
He mad uchon with othir to fyzt, 
Of alle manere nacyouns, 
That comen by schip or dromouns. 
At the laste, of mony londe 
Kynges therof haden gret onde, 
Well thritty y gadred beoth, 
And by spekith al his deth. 
Kyng Philip of grete thede 
Maister was of that fede : 
He was a mon of myzty hond, 
With hem brouzte, of divers lond, 
Nyne and twenty ryche kynges, 
To make on hym batalynges : 
Neptanamous hyt understod ; 
Ychaunged was al his mod ; 
He was aferde sore of harme : 
Anon he dede caste his charme ; 
His ymage he madde anon, 
And of his barounes every chon, 
And afterward of his fone, 
He dude hem to gedere to gon 
In a basyn al by charme ; 
He sazh on him fel theo harme ; 
He seyz flye of his barounes 
Of al his lond distinctiouns." 



The 



223 common words, among which 

have, aux. 



of " 11 

to 7 

from o 

in "5 

with 5 

by " 4 

Pronoun of ist person " i 

2d " " 1 

3d " " 29 

be, aux. i 



shall, " " o 

will o 

may, aux. o 

do, " " 2 

that 3 

and 7 

80 
other particles, 20 



100 particles. 

Hence, Adam Davie's style requires about 223 common words to obtain 100 different woids, 
and averages about forty-four per cent, particles, and fifty-five per cent repetitions. 



Fourteenth Century. 



287 









1 



>2 



f 



a* 



Jh<;OQ 



< p 



8 ««' 









5 S.S y p fc 






to "53 ■ r <-» 1- Si ? ^<— 5 "h o rG ns "> o 






.s.a &gsaj 



§:yg. 



j-S §s 



rt 2 
PQ 6 



o ^ c G 



"fe 



^ 4> 
4 7k 






288 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1 200-1600. 

Extracts from Robert Langland's "Vision and Crede of Pierce 
Plowman" 1350. 

[We select from it the prophecy, relating to Reformation, and Langland's description of 
hunger and of Kynde, or Nature, which is very forcible.] 

" And there shall come a King, and confesse your religions. 
And bete you, as the Bible telleth, for breaking of your rule, 
And amende moniales, monkes and Chanoines, 
And then, fiers in her freytour, shall fynd a key 
Of Constantynes coffers, in which is the catal, 
That Gregories god children had it dispended ; 
And then shall the Abot of Abingdon and all his issue forever, 
Have a knocke of a King ; and incurable the wound. 
Men of holy Kirke shall turn as Templars did ; time approacheth near." 

" Hunger, in heste, though, hent Wastour by the mawe, 
And wronge him so by the wembe that bothe his eien watered. 
He buffeted the Breton about the chekes, 
That he loked lyke a lanterne al his life after." 

" Kinde, conscience tho' heard, and come out of the planets, 
And sent forth his sorrioues, fevers, and fluxes, 
Coughes, and cardiacles, crampes, and toth-aches, 
Reumes, and ragondes, raynous scalles, 
Byles, and botches, and burning agues, 
Freneses, and foul euyl, forages of Kinde ! &c. 
There was Harow ! and Help ! here commeth Kinde." 

173 common words, among which 



The 




occurs 


IO 


times. 


have, 


aux. 


occurs 


1 times. 


a 






(t 


5 


tt 


shall, 


u 


a 


4 


U 


of 






(t 


6 


tt 


may, 


(< 


tt 





<t 


to 






tt 





tt 


will, 


a 


tt 





" 


from 






K 





a 


do, 


(C 


a 


1 


tt 


in 






" 


3 


it 


that 




tt 


3 


tt 


with 






tt 





tt 


and 




tt 


20 


tt 


by 






tt 


2 


tt 








— 




Pron. of 1 st 


per. 


tt 





tt 








6 7 




(i 


2d 


tt 


3 


tt 




other 


particles, 


17 




<( 


3d 


it 


it 


9 


tt 








84 particles. 


be, aux. 






tt 





" 













Hence Langland's style requires 173 common words to furnish 100 different 
words, and averages about forty-nine per cent, particles and forty- two per 
cent, repetitions. 



Fourteenth Century. 



289 





to 


§w 




(dOn 




C^> 


^ 


rSH 


r < 




~ j 








& J 




*J 




gs 




.^ <■» 












** £ 




? ^ 




<o J! 




•* t 




1? 




8 




.^ >- 








.3 x. 




^ 1 




«• u 




^> ■£ 


00 


i* 


w 




-3 J5 


< 


b^ bfl 


S3 


g a 


O 


s « 




k JO 


l-l 






*$ (* 


fa 


(V "1 







ft 


? J 


H 






H S- 


U 


kj a- 


Eh 


^■5 


w 


•S •> 


w 


*<3 Z 


Ph 


<5 4J 


< 
>— > 


5! u 





g 


S n 


< 


? 1 




S ,r 




■5I| 




fc E 




a -s 








S M 




tiS 




^H 




•^S « 




§S 




V 




.* 








A 








k 




<0 


! 



ds z 
< o 



OHO\MMMIO •- 



JO 
6 o 



cou 



0-1; 



<op£ 



a * 9. 



N^ 



2 c 5 S '33 tl -^ 2 o .r? rt ~ "r; ;"2 u o 






He J. 



. <o — 4> 

CJ « G 



tf ^ 






4 ^ 



£ : = 



O 4; 



2 E £ 5 
2 « o tj) 



O. 



2 e 



i^ >M «| 



" G 0) 



19 



T3 
O 

•a 4-1 

5,8 

O-rt 



o JJ 



4> E a 






C^ « „fi 



% bD 



at bo g 3 c *a 

^^ii E- 3 B 






K J- 1) U 



5 « u ^ -fl 

< 3 O CO w 



^Is^l 



rrj2 c MG o^ 

IC 4J V C ^ "1 hn 

= B -2 5 ^ o 3 

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s .sS 



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<0 c St/3 i ^ g 

« W O S'r'V ^ -< "rt 

cs <•- ni ^ g rt 



|^^G ? 5i^f 

V O K; O U-^.y Nj-^ 



290 



Franco-English Period, A.D. 1 200- 1 600. 



Extract from Sir John Mandeville's Travels, A.D. 1356. 

" For als moche as it is longe tyme passed, that there was no generalle 
passage ne vyage over the see; and many men desiren for to here speke of 
the holy lond, and han thereof gret solace and comfort ; I, John Maundeville, 
Knyght, alle be it I be not worthi, that was born in Englond, in the town of 
Seynt Albones, passede the see, in the yeer of our Lord Jhesu Crist 
MCCCXXII, in the day of Seynt Michelle ; and hidre to have ben longe 
tyme over the see, and have seyn and gon thorghe manye dyverse londes, and 
many provynces and kingdomes and iles ; and have passed thorghout Turkye, 
Tartarye, Percye, Surrye, Arabye, Egypt the highe and the lowe, Ermonye 
the litylle and the grete ; thorgh Lybie, Caldee and a gret partie of Ethiope ; 
thorgh Amazoyne, Inde the lasse and the more, a gret partie ; where dwellen 
many dyverse folkes, and of dyverse maneres and lawes and of dyverse schappes 
of men. Of whiche londes and iles I schalle speke more pleynly hereaftre. 
And I schal devise gou sum partie of thinges that there ben, whan time shalle 
ben, aftre it may best come to my mynde ; and specyally for hem, that wylle 
and are in purpos for to visite the holy citee of Jerusalem, and the holy places 
that are thereaboute. And I schalle telle the weye, that thei schalle holden 
thidre. For I have often-tymes passed and ryden the way, with gode com- 
panye of many lordes : God be thonked. 

" And gee schulle undirstonde, that I have put thisboke out of Latyn into 
Frensch, and translated it agen out of Frensche into Englyssch, that every 
man of my nacioun may undirstonde it." 



268 common words, among which 



The 




occurs 


17 


times. 


have, 


aux. 


occurs 


5 


times. 


a 






c« 


I 


<« 


shall, 


« 


cc 


6 


tt 


of 






« 


16 


tt 


will, 


u 


a 


1 


tt 


to 






(< 


3 


n 


may, 


(( 


tt 


1 


tt 


from 






it 





tt 


do, 


a 


a 





a 


in 






tt 


4 


tt 


that, 




a 


6 


a 


with 






tt 


1 


tt 


and 




tt 


24 


it 


by 






tt 





<( 








— 




Pron. 

u 


fist 

2d 


per. 


it 
it 


7 
2 


tt 




other 


particles 


103 

38 




u 
be, aux. 


3d 


u 


tt 

n 


6 
3 


tt 

It 








141 


particles. 



Hence, Sir John Mandeville's style requires 268 common words to furnish 
100 different words, and averages about fifty-two per cent, particles and sixty- 
three per cent, repetitions. 



Fourteenth Century. 



291 



o 
1*1 



5: 






$ 


J3* 




M 


.12 




►*8 


bo 




ft 


W 




k 
3 


•0 
a 




5 




73 


< 


U* 


< 


->- 


n 


O 


*, 


a 


[?J 


->- 


h-I 


<! 


3 


.s 


t-l 






S "2 



*«3 



.8 






S3 

u < 



JO 
o 2 



oc 



•r <« K =. «J 
CV) ta <q O 



u o 



<u u S r_ci2 u S u « s ^ 



■" 2 rt _E 
.2 6 l^-§^S||| «g * 



O-f 



S 5 -S 

4 '43 



C ■" fcC 1) -±3 S3 



o 2- 



u 

• ut) ^ r- -j: 2 u „ u 



0-~ S: r- r- r- ^-C~--C rt — w 

e .. o -is tr ^ o ~ <u rt 2 a 






»*• > tT -2 t3 
u jj 3 • .7 ' G 

"a' 73 cv- 





>."« 


















>J5 






oLrt 




"J! 


J 






5S 


°l 








292 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200- 1600. 

Extract from Sir John Goner's " Confessio Amantis." 

Book V., p. 138, written about 1365. 

" Whan Rome stood in noble plite, 
Virgile, whiche was tho parfite, 
A mirrour made of his clergie, 
And set it in the townes eie 
Of marbre on a piller without, 
That thei by thirtie mile about, 
By daie and eke also by night, 
In that mirrour beholde might 
Her ennemies, if any were, 
With all her ordinance there, 
Whiche thei ayene the citie cast ; 
So that, while thilke mirrour last, 
There was no londe, whiche might acheue 
With werre Rome for to greue. 
Wherof was great enuie tho 
And it fell that ilke tyme so, 
That Rome had werres stronge 
Ageyne Carthage, and stoode longe 
- The two cities upon debate 
Carthage sigh the stronge astate 
Of Rome in thilke mirrour stonde, 
And thought all prively to fonde 
To overthrowe it by some wile, 
And Hanniball was thilke while 
The Prince and leader of Carthage, 
Which had set all his courage 
Upon Knighthode in such a wise, 
That he by worthie and by wise, 
And oy none other was counsailed : 
Wherof the worlde is yet mervailed 
Of the maistries that he wrought 
Upon the marches, which he soughte ; 
And fell thilke tyme also, 
The Kynge of Puile, which was tho, 
Thought ayene Rome to rebelle, 
And thus was take the quarelle, 
Howe to distroie the mirrour. 
Of Rome tho was Emperour," &c. 

210 common words, among which 



The 






occurs 


10 


times. 


have, 


aux. 


occurs 


1 


times. 


a 






" 


3 


" 


shall, 


" 


" 





" 


of 






" 


6 


" 


will, 


" 


" 





" 


to 






" 


5 


" 


may. 


" 


" 


2 


" 


in 






" 


5 


" 


do, 


" 


" 





" 


with 






" 




" 


that 




" 


7 


" 


from 






" 





" 


and 




" 


11 


H 


by 






" 


6 


" 








— 




Pronoun ol 


1st 

2.1 

3d 


person 


» 





12 


ti 






other particles, 


73 
40 




be, aux. 






" 


3 


" 








113 particles 



Hence, Gowers style requires about 210 common words to furnish 100 
different words, and averages about fifty-four per cent, particles and fifty-two 
per cent, repetitions. 



Fourteenth Century. 



293 



< * 

^ £ 



>. 


a 


3 


* 


e 




V 








H 


43 


^ 





^ 


■a 



a a, 



£ S 

w < 



S 2 

O O (J 

653 



Jh^OOw, 



•g £ £ . «/)* 



OkJ43«. 






■S"* 1 o 



I I .« 



M « 

a .3 



^ 



s?& 



III!: 



>>;- 









5 


1 






s 
< 

2 

H 

■< 


counsailed 

mer vailed 

maistries 

marches, n. 

rebelle, v. 

quarelle, n. 

distroie 

emperour 




•• '2 

1 | 

■S V 
■v. tsj3 
« « G 

•^ '£ 

h 2 




H 
£ 

O 

M 
O 
u 


NobU 

parfite 

niirrour 

clergie 

mar ore* 

piller 

mile 

cnnemiss 

ordinance 

citee 

acheue 

greue 

tyme, n. 

enuie, n. 

debate, n. 

prively 

prince 

courage 




en 
< 
J 

P, 




2 H 




2 

OS 

I 

h 











8 3 



1 N 



• Uc"" 



o <=H 



A .52 



294 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200-1600. 

Extract from Chaucer's " Canterbury Tales" A.D., 1390. 

Appleton's Edition, 1857, p, 578. 

*' Now have I told you of veray confession, that is the scconde part of pen- 
itence. The thridde part is satisfaction, and that stont most generally in 
almesse dede and in bodily peine. Now ben ther three maner of almesse : 
contrition of herte, wher a man offreth himself to God : another is, to have 
pitee of the defaute of his neighbour : and the thridde is, in yeving of good 
conseil, gostly and bodily, wher as men have nede, and namely in sicstenancc 
of mannes food. And take kepe that a man hath nede of thise thinges ge?ier- 
ally, he hath nede of food, of clothing, and of herberow, he hath nede of 
charitable consenting and visiting in prison and in maladie, and sepulture of 
his ded body. And if thou maiest not visite the nedeful in prison in thy per- 
son, visite hem with thy message, and thy yeftes. Thise ben generally the 
almesses and werkes of charitee, of hem that have temporel richesses, or dis- 
cretion in consenting. Of thise werkes shalt thou heren at the day of dome." 

'* This almesse shuldest thou do of thy propre thinges, and hastily, and 
prively if thou maiest : bnt natheles, if thou mayest not do it prively, thou 
shalt not forbere to do almesse, though men see it, so that it be not don for 
thanke of the world, but only to have thanke of Jesu Crist. For as witness- 
ed Seint Mathewe, Cap., &c." 

229 common words, among which 



The 




occurs 


7 l 


:imes. 


a 




<< 


2 


tt 


of 




tt 


20 


a 


to 




it 


4 


a 


from 




a 





a 


in 




a 


9 


a 


with 




tt 


i 


a 


by 




it 





tt 


Pron. of 1 st 


per. 


a 


1 


tt 


" 2d 


" 


tt 


11 


tt 


« 3d 


cc 


a 


10 


" 


be, aux. 




a 


5 


tt 


have, ' ' 




a 


8 


tt 


shall, " 




a 


3 


" 


will, " 




tt 





tt 


may, " 




tt 


2 


a 


do, " 




tt 





a 


that 




tt 


5 


a 


and 




a 


15 


a 




other particles 


103 
> 33 










136 particles. 



Hence, Chaucer's style requires 229 words to furnish 100 different words, 
and averages sixty per cent, particles and 56 per cent, repetitions. 



Fourteenth Century. 



295 



1*1 



1 
I 



£ 
§ 



6 



i 



J 

P 

K Z 

< 9 
(/I > 



I SI 

o 



H .sl-2 s 

rt 1! c S 



e S 



c . M 









"8 « 






u 3 > 



gas-si** 



fc!?' 



t*ia 








ma la die 

sepulture 

visite, v. 

person 

message 

charitee 

temporel 

richesses 

discretion 

prop re 

hastily 

prively 

seint, adj. 

citee, n. 




Confession 

secondc, adj. 

part, n. 

penitence 

satisfaction 

generally 

almesse, 11. 

peine, n. 

maner, n. 

contrition 

offreth 
pitee, n. 
defaitte, n. 
conseil, n. 
sustenance 
charitable 
Prison 


« 

^ 


a a, 


N 











"*. 



£ 



■svs 



« 5 

rt G U 
O W ^ 



£•2 2 

fc t s 

>»x « 

S rt Q, 

« m2 
u e K 

u <s. rt 
o _. « 



^?>>a 



.2 sU" 

o M 3 

> C k. 

o W< "' fe 
o «JS « 

« -5-a o 

S °i* 

« iS' 

C 2 e « 

Mill 4 

£ .a rt* M> A., 



296 Franco-English Period ', A.D. 1200- 1600. 

Extract from the Lord' s Prayer, the Creed, and part of another 
Prayer, towards the close of the fourteenth century. 

" Our Fadir that art in hevenys; 
Halewid be thi name. 
Thi kyngdom come to, 
Be thi vvil done in erthe as in hevene. 
Give to us this day oure breed ouir othir substaunce. 
And forgive to us our dettis as we forgiven to our dettouris : 
And lede us not into temptacioun : 
But delyvere us from yvel. Amen." 

" I bileve in god, fadir almygti, makere of hevene and of erthe : and in 
iesu crist the sone of him, oure lord, oon alone : which is conceyved of the 
hooli gost ; born of marie maiden : suffriede passioun undir pounce pilat : cru- 
cified, deed, and biried : he went doun to helle : the thridde day he roos agen 
fro deede : he steig to hevenes : he sittith on the right syde of god the fadir 
almygti: thenns he is to come for to deme the quyke and deede. I beleve 
in the hooli goost : feith of hooli chirche : communynge of seyntis : forgyve- 
ness of synnes ; agenrisyng of fleish, and everlasting lyf. So be it." 

God, of whom ben hooli desiris, rigt councels and iust werkis ; gyve to thy 
servantis pees, that the world may not geve, that in our hertis govun to thi 
commandementis, and the drede of enemys putt awei," &c. 

202 common words, among which 



The 






occurs 


9 


times. 


have, 


aux. 


occurs 





times. 


a 






<« 





tt 


shall, 


tc 


et 





tc 


of 






<( 


11 


tt 


will, 


(t 


{< 


O 


a 


to 
from 






tt 

n 


10 

2 


it 

tt 


may, 
do, 


u 


tt 
tt 


O 


tt 


in 






tt 


7 


tt 


that 




a 


3 


tt 


with 






tt 





tt 


and 




tt 


5 


tt 


by 

Pronoun 
a 


1st 
2d 


per. 


tt 




5 


tt 
tt 
tt 




other 


particles, 


76 




3d 
be, aux. 


« 


tt 
tt 


7 
3 


tt 

tt 








90 


Dartic 



Hence, the devotional style of the fourteenth century required about 202 
common words to furnish 100 different words, and averaged about forty-five 
per cent, particles and fifty-one percent, repetitions. 

Note. — Even the devotional style, usually the most conservative, shows a 
rapid transition from Anglo-Saxon to Franco-English, not only in the increase 
of French terms, but in the absence of Anglo-Saxon inflections, and in the 
increase of the particles of, to, from, in, Sec, which dispense with the inflec- 
tions of the Anglo-Saxon genitive and dative, ending in urn. 



Fourteenth Century. 



297 



$ 

8 


S» 


4S 


SCh- 


^ 


w> 




as 


^s 


Pir- 1 


\» 


<:^ 



I 



S 



*. 









a S 

811 

C o g 

COW 



0^4fe<OX 



b« 



8 2 g8 



c c' 



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rt *>, £ rt . t? u 3 



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298 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1 200-1600. 



Synopsis of the different words from the seven Tables of the 
Fonrtee7ith Century. 



Greek : 2 

Latin : 10 

French: 162 

Italian : 1 
Anglo-Saxon: 257 

Gothic : 1 

German : 6 

Danish : 1 

Welsh : 1 

Irish : 1 

Scotch : 1 



Greco-Latin : 



175 



Gotho-Germanic : 265 



Celtic : 



Hebr 



ew : 



1 v Semitic : 



Total of the differ- 
ent words : 444. 



Hence, the style of Franco-English in the four- 
teenth century shows a vocabulary of different 
words, containing about 

39 per cent. Greco-Latin, including 2>7 P er cent. 

French. 
60 " Anglo-Saxon. 
Traces of Celtic and Semitic. 

Sixty-two of the 162 French words, or about 
thirty-eight per cent., are now spelt as they were in 
the fourteenth century. 

One hundred and eight of the 257 Anglo-Saxon 
words, or about forty per cent., are now spelt as 
they were in the fourteenth century. 

Eight of the 162 French words, or about five per 
cent., are now obsolete. 

Twenty-one of the 257 Anglo-Saxon words, or 
about eight per cent, are now obsolete. 

As the English intellect, language, and literature made gigan- 
tic strides in this age, it behooves the analyzer and reader to 



Fourteenth Century. 299 

pause so as to ascertain the cause of that signal progress. During 
the seven previous centuries, from the earliest Anglo-Saxon 
writing, Ethelbert's Code, A.D. 597, to Robert of Gloucester's 
Chronicle in Franco-English verse, A.D. 1272, we could hardly 
find in any one century two vernacular authors or writings from 
which we could take two Extracts and Tables to trace the origin 
and progress of the Anglo-Saxon dialect ; so scarce were ver- 
nacular writings, that we had in several centuries to resort to the 
"Saxon Chronicle" for a second Extract. In the eleventh and 
twelfth centuries the written thought in England was almost ex- 
clusively Latin. Even as late as the thirteenth century we had 
the Franco-English pioneer, Robert of Gloucester, and Layo- 
mon's translation of " Le Brut d'Angleterre ; " to obtain a third 
Extract we collected popular prayers, because Latin was still 
the vehicle of written thought in England. Only the fourteenth 
century witnessed an increase of written vernacular ideas, which 
we mainly attribute to Robert of Gloucester's Chronicle, that had 
enabled the English people to read the history of the world and 
their country, penned in a pleasant style in their native tongue. 
Hence Robert of Gloucester may truly be called the pioneer 
thinker and writer in primitive English. Robert Manning's 
"Rhyming Chronicle" opened the fourteenth century; he was 
soon joined by Adam Davie. Langland, Sir John Mandeville, 
Wickliffe, Gower, and Chaucer, who so illumined his age, that it 
may be styled the Chaucerian Era. Now intellectual treasures, 
written in the vernacular dialect, awakened the popular mind and 
induced men to read and think for themselves, and not to take 
all their mental food from priests, monks, and nuns. 

Chaucer's writings, especially his " Canterbury Tales," being 
rather a criticism and burlesque on the manners and customs of 
that day, must have powerfully contributed to open the eyes of 
the people. Noblemen, priests, monks, nuns, and commoners, 
are exhibited and contrasted in those piquant tales, which were 
singularly calculated to show the social foibles ; but underlying 
these intellectual teachings was the moral and religious eiement, 
urged by the enlightened, good, and earnest Wickliffe, who trans- 
lated the Bible into plain Franco-English, so that every man, 
woman, and child could read and explain its precepts for them- 
selves, out of which grew the axiom " Liberty of Conscience." 



300 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200-1600. 

Thus seven eminent thinkers, authors, and writers in the native 
idiom : Robert Manning, Adam Davie, Langland, Sir John Man- 
deville, WicklirTe, Govver, and Chaucer, where there had hardly 
been two in any one of the seven previous centuries — account 
for that English intellectual and moral dawn of the fourteenth 
century. In his "Intellectual Development of Europe," Draper 
says : " The development of European languages was the instru- 
ment of papal overthrow," which is corroborated by our numeric 
analysis of language. 

Before closing this age, so beneficent to the English language 
and literature, we must mention England's navigator, Macham, 
who discovered the Isle of Madeira, A.D. 1344, and died there 
soon after. Alcafarado wrote an account of Macham' s adven- 
tures in Portuguese, which was translated into French, A.D. 1672. 
It seems England might have claimed Madeira under the plea of 
discovery. England had a protestant in WicklirTe, and Ireland 
in Fitz Ralph, Archbishop of Armagh, better known as Richard 
of Armagh, who, for denouncing the licentiousness of the mendi- 
cant friars, was cited before Pope Innocent VI. and condemned. 
This liberal prelate died at Avignon, 1360. Scotland had a 
chronicler and two Latinists in the fourteenth century : Wynton, 
prior of the monastery of Saint Serf's Island, wrote " Orygynale 
Cronikil of Scotland" in verse, which contains precious informa- 
tion about that period. It was translated into French, 1795, en- 
titled "Chronique Originale d'Ecosse." John Blair, chaplain 
to Sir William Wallace, whose life he penned in Latin verse, 
which was translated by Hume in his " History of the Doug- 
lasses." John Fordun wrote " Chronicon Genuinum," History 
of Scotland, about A.D. 1350. It. is said MacCulloch continued 
it. Thus had England, Ireland, and Scotland their reformers and 
literati in the fourteenth century, and the British Isles contributed 
their fair quota to the world's progress. 



FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 



" Printing, an art which was to preserve all arts, and which was to elevate the human race 
and spread intelligence, education, the Bible, the almanac, and the newspaper through the 
world."— Hudson's Journalism. 

This age witnessed many events highly important to popular 
education, and therefore to the development and expanse of the 
English language and literature : An Act of Parliament, about 
1406, to allow villains, namely : farmers, mechanics, &c, to send 
their children to school ; public schools were established, colleges 
endowed, and the Universities of St. Andrews and Glasgow 
founded. The magnificent structures erected at Oxford and 
Cambridge show in what estimate England held classic educa- 
tion. The last vestige of foreign linguistic influence was effaced 
from the national records, 1483, by an Act of Parliament abolish- 
ing the custom of writing every statute of that body in French. 
Even royalty did homage to the vernacular in this century; for 
Henry IV. had his will made in English, 1413, which shows great 
progress, when -we consider that Henry II. needed an interpreter 
to explain " good olde Ky?ige " addressed to him by the yeomanry 
of Pembrokshire, 1154. Henry V. imitated his father's patriotic 
example ; before, the royal wills were written in French ; so were 
those of the nobility, who soon followed the sovereign's lead. 

Wickliffe's ideas found adherents in Bohemia, where John 
Huss, rector of the University of Prague, translated the English 
Bible into Bohemian, 1408, and was burned as a heretic by the 
Council of Constance. 141 5. Then and there England's language 
found its way to the continent, where it gained an influence that 
has ever been increasing, especially through Shakespeare, New- 
ton, and a galaxy of great intellects. 

The year 1409 witnessed a very decided reform movement : 
When Henry IV. tried to raise money by taxation, the House of 
Commons advised him to seize the revenues of monasteries and 



302 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200- 1600. 

convents, and leave the care of each parish to the secular clergy. 
Henry IV. refused to raise funds by such a method ; but fifty years 
after, Henry VIII. carried out this suggestion to its fullest extent. 

Here belongs Margaret, styled the Semiramis of the North, 
Queen of the Scandinavian Races, whose influence began to be 
felt all over Europe during the long reign of this great woman. 
Her fame reached the Eastern Emperor, Emanuel Paleologus, 
who called her "Regina sine exetnplo maxima." She died 141 2. 
Under her sway the Scandinavian or Gothic dialects, and the 
primitive Northern tribes, that spoke them, had much in common 
with England and her language. 

The most progressive stride, made by language, was printing, 
which became practically useful about this time. Hypercritics 
may wrangle about ancient Medieval and Chinese methods of 
printing and about inscriptions in cameo and intaglio ; we start 
from where printing became a practical art. Three individuals 
claim its invention : Lawrence Coster, of Harlem, 1430 ; Guten- 
berg, of Mentz, 1440, and Faust, of Mentz, 1440. It has been 
conceded that Gutenberg had the best claim. In 1450 Gutenberg 
and Faust became partners and printed with letters, cut on 
wooden blocks, a dictionary, which they named "Catholicon" 
Next they substituted copper types in place of the wooden ones, 
and printed a Latin Bible. Soon they separated and Faust asso- 
ciated his son-in-law, SchofTer, with himself. Hence we fre- 
quently see the three heads of Gutenberg, Faust, and ^choffer, 
united on title-pages. This art in the first place compelled uni- 
formity in spelling, which was the great desideratum. Seeing the 
same word differently spelled on the same page (which before was 
very common) became an impossibility, because printer and 
press corrector held to a fixed standard, whatever might be the 
caprice of the authors or copyists, who had hitherto produced so 
much chaos in orthography. No wonder Andrews calls printing : 

" This almost divine method of expanding literature" 

The art extended rapidly to all parts of Europe, so that, A.D. 
about 1500, printed books issued from two hundred European 
cities. Germany showed her gratitude to Gutenberg for his great 
invention, in erecting to him a magnificent bronze statue by 
Thorwaldsen, at Mentz, 1837. 



Fifteenth Century. 303 

The royal bard, James I. of Scotland, deserves a place here, 
not only for his literary tastes, but for his love of horticulture, 
planting and engrafting fruit trees, and teaching those about him 
to do likewise. While confined at Windsor Castle, he devoted 
some of his solitary hours to poetic effusions that have been much 
esteemed. He also wrote Latin with ease and fluency. It is 
said, during his long confinement, Henry V. gave him an excel- 
lent education. In 1424 he was restored to his kingdom. After 
his release he wedded the lovely Joanna Beaufort, whose mere 
sight at a distance had charmed his loneliness at Windsor Castle, 
and about whom he had written such pathetic strains. 

Behold a specimen of this amiable prince's georgics : 

" Now was there maide, fast by the touris wall 
A gardene faire ; and in the corneres set 
An herbere grene, with wandis long and small 
Bailit about ; and so with tree — is set 
Was all the place, and hawthorn heggis knet, 
That lyf was none, walking there forbye, 
That might within scarce any wyght aspye. 

So thick the beughis and the levis grene 

Beschadet all the allies that there were, 

And middis every harbere might be sene 

The sharpe, grene, suete junipere, 

Growing so fast with branchis here and there, 

That, as it seemed to a lyf withoute, 

The beughis spred the harbere all aboute." 

The following stanza from his "King'' 's Quhair " shows how he 
studied and revered his great predecessors : 

" Unto impnis of my maisteres dere, 

Gower and Chaucer, on the steps that sate 

Of rhetorike, whyle thai were lyoand here, 

Superlative as poetes laureate, 

In moralite and eloquence ornate ; 

I recommend my buk in lynis seven, 

And eke their saulis unto blisse of Heven." 

This worthy prince, assassinated 1437 by a fierce and unbridled 
feudal aristocracy, exhibits to the world a striking example of 
how circumstances change a man's disposition, tastes, and char- 
acter : confined as a child and youth, he had ample time to look 



304 Franco-English Period, A.D. 1 200-1600. 

at human life as it is, and not as it is artificially made. Had he 
grown up amid the whirl of royalty, he would probably not have 
become the tender-hearted being he lived and died. Here is a 
pathetic strain to his solitary life : 

" Through the dayis and the nightis eke, 
I wold bewaille my fortune in this wise, 
For which distresse, agayne, comfort to take, 
My custome was, on mornys for to rise 
Airly as day. Oh, happy exercise ! 
But slepe for craft on earthe, colde I no more ; 
For which, as that I colde no better wyte 
I toke a boke to rede upon a while, 
Myn eyne gan to smerte for studying, 
My book I schett," &c. . . . 

The erudite and liberal Scotch historian, W. Robertson, has 
these most pertinent remarks on this excellent, but unfortunate 
youth, man, and king : 

" It was the misfortune of James, that his maxims and manners were too 
refined for the age in which he lived. Happy, had he reigned in a kingdom 
more civilized. His love of peace, of justice and of elegance would have 
rendered his schemes successful ; and instead of perishing, because he at- 
tempted too much, a grateful people would have applauded and seconded his 
efforts to reform and improve them." 

About the middle of this age flourished John Lydgate, also 
known as the "Monk of Bury." It has been found by a MS. in 
the Harleian Collection that he died A.D. 1460, and not, as usu- 
ally stated in biographies, 1440. Of him, Warton, in his " History 
of English Poetry," says : 

" No poet seems to have possessed a greater versatility of talents : he moves 
with equal ease in every mode of composition. His hymns and his ballads 
have the same degree of merit, and whether his subject be the life of a hermit 
or a hero, of St. Austin, or Guy of Warwick, ludicrous or legendary, a 
history or an allegory, he writes with ease and perspicuity." 

Lydgate wrote the "History of Thebes," "The Fall of Prin- 
ces," odes, and other poems. We took an Extract and Table 
from his famous ballad, " London Lyckpenny," which is truly 
curious, showing, as it does, the status of the courts in England 
under Henry VI. 



Fifteenth Century. 305 

We cannot help alluding to Reginald Peacock, Bishop of Chi- 
chester, who was deposed for questioning papal infallibility, A.D. 
1457. Our Extract and Table from his works are important, 
because they indicate the style and vocabulary, used by the higher 
and middle classes of his day. They also evince the prelate's 
disposition to conciliate the papists and Wickliffites or Lollards. 
Bishop Peacock was no extremist ; for to him Romanists and 
Lollards seemed equally dear in a Christian point of view. The 
arguments he used were well calculated to soften the bitterness 
of the reformers against his clerical colleagues. 

Robert Fabian, born in London about 1450, was considered 
the most facetious and learned of the mercers and aldermen of 
the metropolis, being conversant with Latin. About 1493 he 
was sheriff of London, and composed his " Concordaunce of His- 
tory es" in seven books, six of which relate to England's History 
prior to the conquest, and the last narrates English and French 
history to the reign of Henry VII. Bale says Wolsey destroyed 
as many copies of this chronicle as he could procure, because it 
contained too much information concerning the church's patri- 
mony. 

Here is a specimen from Fabian's introduction to a poem in 
praise of London : 

" Whoso him lyketh these verses to rede, 
"With favor I pray, he'll them spell, 
Let not the rudeness of them him lede, 
To disprove this rhyme— doggerell ; 
Some part of the honour it doth you tell 
Of this old Cytye Troy novant, 
But not thereof the halfe, delle 
Connynge in the maker is so adaunt. 
But though he had the eloquence 
Of Tully, and the moralitie 
Of Sence, and the influence 
Of the swete sugred harmonies, 
Of that faire ladie Calliope, 
Yet had he not connynge perfyte 
Thys citie to praise in eche degre, 
As that should duly aske by ryte.' 1 

" Fabian, though a mercer and sheriff, is ranged among the poets and his- 
torians of his day." — Pettit Andrews. 
20 



306 Franco-English Period, A.D. 1200- 1600. 

A singular instance of thrift in sacred literature was shown by 
a D.D. called William Litchfield, who wrote with his own hand 
3,083 sermons, and a metrical "Dialogue between God and the 
Penitent Soul," which are preserved in Caius College, Cambridge. 
This most industrious divine died 1447. Imagine a pastor 
writing for his flock a sermon every week for sixty years, and 
you have the Rev. William Litchfield. In 1450, one Scolan 
burned the numerous Welsh MS. in the White Tower. It is 
thought these writings contained valuable information concerning 
the adventures and settlements of the Cimbric and Celtic tribes. 
Such a Vandal deserves a monument corresponding to his crime. 

Medicine recorded a great surgical discovery made in Paris, 
1474 : A criminal condemned to death, suffering much from the 
stone, offered to submit to lithotomy, on condition that his life 
should be spared if the operation was successful. As it entirely 
succeeded, many, suffering from the same cause, desired to have 
the stone removed by the same process. Then and there the 
term lithotomy was added to the vocabulary, the word stone ac- 
quired a new application, and many technic terms have been 
added to language. 

This century points to an institution that started the diffusion 
of general knowledge, and subsequently contributed much to dis- 
sipate provincialisms and establish a uniform standard of writing, 
printing, spelling, and grammar in the modern languages ; Louis 
XL, King of France, who, among many acts deserving mankind's 
execration, has the merit of having introduced a postal service, 
1479. First designed to convey government despatches and 
officials, it was soon extended to facilitate business intercourse 
between distant countries. Under Charles I. a similar service 
was commenced in England, 1635, but did not prosper till about 
1657. Could the starter of this most useful contrivance have 
supposed that the world's postal service would convey 867,056,750 
letters in one year in 1870? 

Now arose one of those rare men, upon whose life Heaven 
smiles from birth through eternity; a man who was a blessing to 
himself, a credit to his father, mother, kith and kin, an honor to 
his country and his race ; not because he won laurels on the 
battle-field, at the risk and expense of innocent fellow-creatures, 
but because his career was a shining example of " Peace and 



Fifteenth Century. 307 

good-will to men." Washington Irving styles such men "Na- 
ture's Nobility"; De Gerando and Pestalozzi, "Self "educated." 
Be not astonished to hear, that this exemplary man can point to 
no eminent ancestry, no collegiate honors, no university diplo- 
mas ; for he was William Caxton, who started life as a mercer 
and ended it as a printer ; but simple as this life may appear, it is 
a mirror, which the more it is looked at, the more usefulness and 
brightness it will reflect; because we see a self-taught scholar, ne- 
gotiator, and statesman, in whom, not only the London Mercers' 
Company, but kings, princes, and princesses did and could con- 
fide. As Caxton' s life was so varied, we give it in detail, so that 
the millions of youths, who start in life as he did, may realize 
what may be achieved, at home and abroad, with a steady purpose 
and unswerving integrity. Born in the Weald of Kent about 
1410, when quite young he was apprenticed to a London Mercer 
named Large, who became afterwards Lord Mayor of London. 
He remained in this situation until Mr. Large's death, 1439. 

The Mercer's Company, 1442, sent Caxton, as their agent, to 
the Netherlands, where he transacted business with such fidelity, 
that he was appointed to a commission, granted by Edward IV., 
for the purpose of confirming or forming a commercial treaty 
between England and Burgundy, 1464. Lady Margaret of York, 
who married Charles, Duke of Burgundy, 1468, employed Caxton 
in her household at Bruges. While thus occupied abroad, he 
learned French and contrived to acquaint himself with the new 
art of printing. In 1468 he began, at the solicitation of the 
Duchess, to translate into English "Le Recuyil des Histoires de 
Troye " de Jean Lefevre (Recueyll of the Histories of Troye *}, 
which he accomplished in three years. He went to Cologne and 
printed it 147 1. This was the first typographic production in the 
English language. It is so rare that, at a book sale at Roxburgh, 
a copy sold for ^£1060. From the translator's own words : "I 
practysed and learned at my grete charge and dispense to or dyne 
this say de book in prynte" we may realize his persevering industry. 
About 1474 Caxton returned home with presses, types, printing 
materials, and established a printing room at the entrance of 



* There is a facsimile of a portion of this book in the Astor Library, New 
York. 



308 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1 200-1 600. 

Westminster Abbey ; thenceforth a printing-room was called a 
chapel. Here he issued his version of "Le Jeu d'Echecs Mora- 
lise" (The Game of Chess Moralized *), which was the first book 
printed in England, 1474-t 

Caxton relates an amusing anecdote of Master Sheffelde, a 
London mercer, who, on his way to Holland, was obliged to land 
near Kingsgate, where he asked a woman for refreshments, par- 
ticularly for eggs. She told him she spoke no French. Sheffelde, 
ignorant of any language but English, became angry ; but he 
might have starved had not a bystander exclaimed " cyren" 
which was the Kentish for "eggs." Such was the confusion of 
the English tongue, even as late as the fifteenth century, at which 
we can hardly wonder, when we consider, as previously stated, 
that farmers and laborers were not allowed to send their children 
to school till 1406. Caxton died about 1492, and was buried in 
St. Margarite's Church, Westminster. Our Extract and Table 
from his works will show his style. In my humble opinion Eng- 
land had no better and terser writer than Caxton prior to 1500. 
Even his few poetic strains evince as much ease and fluency as 
those of his predecessors and cotemporaries, as may be observed 
by these lines on Chaucer's writings : 

" Redith his werkis ful of plesaunce, 
Clere in sentence, in langage excellent, 
Briefly to wryte suche was his suffysaunce ; 
What ever to saye he tooke in his entente, 
His langage was so fayr and pertynente : 
It semeth unto mannys heerynge, 
Not only the worde, but verely the thynge." — Caxton. 

Any one who will take the trouble to investigate the English 
literature of the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries, may 
discover that there was no standard in writing from the time of 
the Franco-Norman conquest to that of Chaucer, who first at- 
tempted to harmonize the heterogeneous linguistic elements and 
provincialisms in his native tongue. Even Chaucer, the Father 
of the English language, literature, and poetry, shows a singular 

* There is a facsimile of this book in the Astor Library, New York, 
f November 28, 1814, London saw the first printing done by steam. "The 
London Times " claims the honor of this improvement upon Caxton's method 



Fifteerith Century. 309 

•want of orthography ; for we find throughout his works spelling 
like this : in one place " shuln" in another " shidde ;" then "ven- 
geance" and soon after "vengeannce ;" sometimes " liony" then 
"honey;" " travaile" and then " travaille" &c. When such 
diversity of one and the same word occurs in poetry, it may be 
styled "poetic license ;" but when it occurs in prose, even friends 
would be obliged to call it " bad spelling." Caxton, by his un- 
tiring efforts to introduce printing into England, did more towards 
forming a standard of English orthography than any one or all of 
his predecessors, because a printed book is the best spelling- 
teacher. 

Behold some of posterity's dicta on Caxton, the self-taught 
pioneer of varied artistic and intellectual accomplishments : 

" Caxton, a man worthy to be held in immortal memory, as the first who 
gave to England the means for the diffusion of knowledge." — R. A. Daven- 
port. 

" Caxton, an English scholar and printer, celebrated as the first who intro- 
duced printing into England." — Thomas. 

"In the space of twenty years, he produced between fifty and sixty differ- 
ent books, many of them translations from the French, and judiciously selected 
to promote a taste for literature and good morals." — r Rh. Wright. 

The " Dictionnaire Universel Biographique " styles Caxton : 

" Ambassadeur-imprimeur, qui s'adonna au commerce sans negliger la poli- 
tique et la litterature" — Ambassador-printer, who applied himself to com- 
merce, without neglecting statesmanship and literature. 

Thus the life of a good and useful man becomes a center of 
attraction and reflection : an American looks at Caxton and 
calls him celebrated ; an Englishman surveys the services ren- 
dered, and the intellectual treasures derived from France, and 
generously acknowledges the debt ; while a Frenchman collates 
and welcomes both, as pointing towards more kindly international 
relations through statesmanship and literature. 

A Portuguese mariner, named Diaz, sailed to the southern 
point of Africa, 1487, and called it Cape Storm, which echoed 
first Portuguese, next Dutch accents. England rebaptized it 
Cape of Good Hope, and extended her language in that direction 
over an area of 239,112 square miles, twice as large as Great 
Britain and Ireland. 



310 Fr anco- English- Period, A. D. 1200-1600. 

In 1492 Ferdinand and Isabella took Granada, drove the 
Moors out of Spain and freed Western Europe from Mahometan 
rule — a small compensation for the loss of the Greek Empire and 
its venerable language. 

While the Mahometans conquered the Greek Empire in the 
east, the Christians looked westward and were not disappointed j 
for during five centuries prior to 1492, discoveries had been made 
in the west. As early as A.D. 970, an Icelander, named Gun- 
biorn, discovered Greenland, where Erich Rauda and other 
Icelanders, 982, settled and built many towns that florished till 
141 8. In 990 they founded two important cities, Hvattalid and 
Garda. An Icelander, named Biorn, while on his way to Green- 
land, 100 1, was driven southwest and discovered a level country 
covered with forests. In the same year Leif Erichson traveled 
over the newly discovered land, and finding it covered with vines, 
loaded with grapes, named it Winland (Vineland). Subsequently 
this Vineland, now Canada, was visited from Greenland during 
126 years to carry on the fur trade. In 1121 Bishop Erich sailed 
from Greenland to Vineland to convert his heathen countrymen 
who had settled there. From that period all information from 
Vineland ceased. 

Next we hear of the discovery and colony of Prince Madoc, 
from Wales, n 70, and that the remains thereof were found by 
F. L. Gomara, 1550, as we have before related. 

Two Venetian explorers, Antonio and Nicolo Zeno, discovered 
Newfoundland, 1390, which they called "Estotiland." 

The Azores, a group of nine islands in the Atlantic, about 
1000 miles west of Lisbon, and about 1800 from New York, 
were first discovered by a Flemish merchant of Bruges, named 
John Vanderberg, who was driven thither by a storm, 1439. On 
his arrival at Lisbon, which was then the great commercial center 
of Europe, he spoke of his discovery. The Portuguese imme- 
diately sailed, took possession of them, and kept them ever since. 
Portuguese authors relate that Vanderberg found on a high hill 
in the Isle of Terceira an equestrian statue, whose rider stretched 
his hand westward ; and that strange characters (supposed to be 
Punic or Carthaginian) were engraved on the pedestal. The 
learned Anderson mentions this interesting tradition in his "His- 
torical and Chronological Deduction of the Origin of Commerce." 



Fifteenth Century. 3 1 1 

There are other stories of western discoveries prior to 1492, 
especially that about Martin Behaim of Nuremberg, who is said 
to have landed on the coast of Brazil, i486, and to have made a 
map of it, which was of service to Magellan in the discovery of 
the straits that bear his name. By this rapid sketch it may be 
realized, that this was the age of naval adventure and discovery, 
and that even the Church joined the enthusiasm ; for the Pope 
granted right of possession to any king or prince whose subjects 
discovered new land and planted the cross and royal insignia 
thereon. Governments emulated each other in exploring ex- 
peditions ; mariners were looking out for unknown isles and 
countries ; sailors related wonderful adventures in the mysterious 
western ocean, that had been current since the Phenicians, Car- 
thaginians, Romans, and Northern Sea-Kings. 

Christopher Columbus, born of poor parents at Genoa, growing 
up amid this elan for naval fame, engaged, at the age of fourteen, 
in a seafaring life, where he had opportunities to hear and read, 
not only the wonderful sailors' stories, but the actual discoveries of 
Iceland, Greenland, Newfoundland, Madeira, and Azores (nearly 
in mid-ocean) by the Scandinavians, Welsh, Venetians, English, 
Flemings, and Portuguese. About 1470 he went to Lisbon, then 
the chief seat of nautical science, where he married, resided, and 
made geographic maps and charts. Thence he sailed to Iceland 
and accomplished what he states in one of his letters : " In 1477 
I navigated one hundred leagues beyond Thule." During this 
voyage to Iceland, Columbus, no doubt, heard of Greenland and 
Vineland, previously found by the Norsemen. After his negotia- 
tions with John II. of Portugal had failed, Columbus applied to 
Spain, then engaged in war with the Moors. Meanwhile he sent 
his brother, Bartholomew, to England to lay his maps, charts, and 
plans before Henry VII., 1488. Thus Columbus had in vain 
asked the kings of England, France and Portugal for subsidies to 
discover a New World ; they were obtuse and slow of conception. 
It required the sagacity and quick perception of woman to hear 
the problem and realize its bearings. That woman he found in 
Queen Isabella, who at once saw the possibility of the theme and 
its immense advantages. Hence we are indebted to Isabella's 
intuition for the discovery of America, where the loss of the 
Greek Empire was replaced by a continent with an area of 15,- 



312 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1 200-1600. 

896,000 square miles, now, 1878, occupied by a Christian popu- 
lation of 84,524,000, and where 445 languages and 2,000 dialects 
have been replaced by three European : English, Spanish, and 
Portuguese. Of the 84,000,000 that now inhabit America, 47,- 
000,000 speak English and 37,000.000 Spanish and Portuguese. 
Although Columbus first crossed the untried ocean and stepped 
on the Western Hemisphere's soil August 3, 1492, Americus 
Vespucius, who accompanied four expeditions as astronomer, 
not as commander, had his name affixed to the New World on 
the plea of a letter, dated July 18, 1500, in which he wrote : 

" We discovered a very large country of Asia." 

It is claimed the country thus mentioned was Brazil. 

It may be truly said that one religion, the Christian, and two 
languages, English and Russian, are expanding ; and with them 
civilization, as lately shown in Russia by the emancipation of 
20,000,000 serfs. English is expanding west, east, and south; 
while Russian tends eastward, like Greek under Alexander the 
Great. Let every one hail these benign elements of universal 
progress. 

Philology mentions about 900 languages, of which 157 belong 
to Asia, with a population of 794,000,000 — giving an average of 
5,050,000 souls per language — 53 to Europe with a population 
of 30 1,600,000=: average 5,600,000 souls per language — 125 to 
Africa with a population of 19 2, 5 2 0,000 = average 1.540,000 souls 
per language — 120 to Oceanica with a population of 4,365,000 = 
average 36,000 souls per language — and 445 to America, being 
mostly dead, as are also the nations and tribes that spoke them ; 
and therefore cannot be averaged on the present population of 
America, like the languages of the other parts of the world. 

Philology also mentions 5,000 dialects, about one-half of 
which belong to America. Humboldt expressed regret, that 
there were no fixed limits between dialects and languages. The 
fact that unprogressed parts of the world have so many different 
languages, shows that the more nationalities are backward in 
civilization, the more numerous are their dialects. Their words 
consist almost entirely of vowel-sounds, and designate' mostly 
physical objects and articles of immediate necessity. Certain 
dialects resemble the chattering of animals and the cackling of 



Fifteenth Ce Jittery. 313 

geese; whereas others grow rich and become refined, as the 
nations who speak them progress in literature, art, and science. 
Such has been particularly the case with the Ario- Japhetic dia- 
lects, whose words became gradually more and more felicitously 
blended with vowels and consonants, and whose vocabulary ex- 
panded beyond physical objects and articles of mere necessity into 
the realm of metaphysic ideas and vocables. What was true of 
the European languages three centuries ago would be a libel 
now. Charles V. (1576), master of an empire vaster than that 
of Charlemagne, spoke and wrote seven languages ; when asked 
his opinion as to these languages, the monarch is said to have 
replied : I would speak Spanish with God, Italian with my lady- 
love, French with friends, German with servants, Hungarian with 
horses, English with geese, and Bohemian with the devil. Could 
and would such language escape from the lips of a scholar and 
great monarch, since Shakespeare, Milton, Pope, Byron, Scott, 
Mrs. Hemans, Moore, &c, have spoken, written, and sung in 
English ? Since Gellert, Lessing, Schiller, Goethe, Herder, Hum- 
bolt, &c, have spoken, written, and sung in German ? 

As to the 445 Americo-Indian languages and 2,000 dialects, 
had any of them been Mother Tongues, like Sanscrit, Greek, 
Latin, Hebrew, Arabic, or Gothic, they might have died, but they 
would not become extinct, as they are doomed very soon to be. 
However, a progressive world will not lose much by their extinc- 
tion. Lately philology found analogy between some of the Carib 
dialects of Eastern America and Western Africa, and between the 
languages of Eastern Asia and Western America. We hope 
research will disclose more and more prehistoric links of the 
early dwellers of the two hemispheres. 

Hubert H. Bancroft's " Native Races of the Pacific States of 
North America" (1877) is a noble contribution towards clearing 
up the proto history and original dialects of the New World. 
The six hundred languages and dialects of the Pacific countries 
from Alaska to the River Darien, so elaborately collated and 
commented on, are a thesaurus to philology. If Mr. Bancroft 
bestowed like research on the Eastern and South American races 
and tongues, he would complete the possible protohistory of the 
Western Hemisphere, a Herculean and glorious task for any 
aspiring mortal. 



3H Franco-English Period, A.D. 1200- 1600. 

At last Henry VII. of England joined in the enthusiasm for 
discovery, and furnished Sebastian Cabot the means to start for 
an island that he and his father had previously discovered. Some 
think it was Labrador, others Newfoundland. After a successful 
voyage he returned from the New World with many curious spe- 
cimens, among which were three natives, whom he presented to 
King Henry. Robert Fabian, a cotemporary chronicler, thus 
describes them in his "Concordance of Histories" : 

" There were brought King Henry three men, taken in the new found 
island : they were clothed in beast's skins, and did eat raw flesh, and spake 
such speech as that no man could understand them ; and in their demeanor 
were like brute beasts ; whom the King kept a time after. Of the which 
about two years after, I saw two, apparelled after the manner of Englishmen, 
in Westminster palace, which at that time I could not discern from English- 
men, till I was learned what they were. But as for speech I heard none of 
them utter one word." 

July 8, 1497, the Portuguese navigator, Vasco de Gama, started 
from Lisbon with 160 men in three vessels, doubled the Cape of 
Good Hope, sailed along the eastern coast of Africa, landed at 
Mozambique and Melinda, and crossed over to Calicut on the 
western coast of India, whence he returned home, 1499. This 
expedition was important, not only to commerce, but to language, 
as the starting-point of Europe's acquaintance with Arian, San- 
scrit, Zend, &c, mother tongues of the Ario- Japhetic dialects. 
To European literature Gama's voyage furnished the subject of 
Camoens' "Lusiad" which Madame de Stael calls "the national 
glory of Portuguese." To England and her language it opened 
the way to an Asiatic empire with an area of 936,477 square 
miles, and a population of 193,108,988. Who can, who will un- 
dervalue the consequences that have been, are and will be accru- 
ing to mankind from that discovery ? Thus has the fifteenth 
century been pregnant with events having the grandest results : 
printing, discovery of America, and passage to India, where, as 
shown in a previous Table, the " simple elements " of the Anglo- 
Saxon dialect started ages ago, near the source of the Indus in 
Central Asia, and whither the descendants of those Anglo-Saxons 
have returned with their language enriched by the linguistic 
treasures of the world. What mysterious influences are ever 
acting and reacting on our planet ! No doubt, the poet had ob- 



Fifteenth Century. 3 1 5 

served and experienced these strange attractions, when he penned 

this strain : 

" All natural objects have 
An echo in the heart. This flesh doth thrill 
And has connection, by some unseen chain, 
With its original source and kindred substance : 
The mighty forest, the grand tides of Ocean, 
Sky-cleaving hills, and in the vaster air, 
The starry constellations, and the sun, 
Parent of life exhaustless — these maintain 
With the mysterious mind and breathing mould, 
A co-existence and community." 

Towards the close of this age a branch of mathematics, subse- 
quently called Algebra, which influenced and advanced, not only 
all the exact sciences, but the arts, mechanics, and commerce, 
was developed and set forth by an Italian monk, named Luca di 
Borgo Paccioli, in two works, entitled "Summa de Arithmetica, 
Geometria, Proportioned &c, in which the method of keeping 
accounts by double entry was first used and explained ; and "De 
Divina Proportioned for which his friend, the celebrated Leo- 
nardo da Vinci, engraved the plates. This learned monk taught 
his new science in Rome, Naples, Pisa, and Venice, where his 
first work was printed, 1494. Here also new terms were added 
to the vocabulary, and many existing words received new appli- 
cations. 

Thus new devices, discoveries, and inventions occasion and 
call forth, not only new' words and new meanings of existing 
words, but develop new phraseology and construction, open fresh 
channels of thought that ramify into all the departments of human 
experience. Prior to lithotomy ', crystallization was known to exist 
in the mineral world, as a natural process ; but lithotomy revealed 
a similar parasitic process in the animal world, which produced 
new thoughts, ideas, appliances, and instruments, that required 
names, all of which enriched language. Arithmetic and geometry- 
existed before Paccioli, but his new method of viewing them sug- 
gested terms that ultimated in algebra, logarithms, integral and 
differential calculus, trigonometry, statics, dynamics, &c. ; the 
single words had long existed in dictionaries, but had never been 
used to convey that meaning till Paccioli hinted at, and explained, 
it in his wonderful work. So with the art of printing, which ex- 



316 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200- 1600. 

cited fresh thought, requiring new terms and new applications of 
existing words from the casting of type to the folding, stitching, 
and covering of a pamphlet or brochure, to say nothing of a 
splendid morocco-bound embossed folio Family Bible, with golden 
clasps, words, ideas, and phrases, all due to printing. Hence, 
any and everything that affects the human mind, either through 
sight, hearing, tasting, or touching, forms a streamlet, flowing 
into language, as soon as it finds linguistic expression ; therefore, 
if asked : What is language ? we may pertinently answer : Please 
tell us what it is not. 

The year 1453 saw the sanguinary Mahomet II. enter Con- 
stantinople, on whose ramparts Constantine XIII. died, defend- 
ing the city founded by his great namesake. Soon tyranny and 
its attendant, sterility, spread, not only over the once happy Ar- 
cadia, but over the plains of Crete, Egypt, and Asia; and dense 
forests overgrew the fruitful slopes and valleys of Thrace, Mace- 
donia, Illyria, and Albania, where the renowned Scanderbeg so 
long successfully baffled the armies sent against him by the 
haughty Turk. Whining moralists attribute this calamity to the 
follies, effeminacy, and sins of the Greeks and Romans, as 
though this flimsy accounting could diminish a loss of such mag- 
nitude. As many centuries have elapsed since this infamous rule 
by sword has been tolerated, not only in the city of Melchisedek 
and Solomon, but in the city of Byzas and Constantine, we re- 
joice to hear that the Christian nations are combined to remove 
the Mahometans from the vast peninsula, originally occupied by 
the Thraco-Pelasgi and their progeny, the Greeks. 

Thus fell the vast empire founded by Alexander the Great ; 
but what became of its rich, varied, and elegant language, in 
which Solon legislated, Socrates moralized, Hippocrates ex- 
pounded the healing art, Aristotle discussed the natural sciences, 
Demosthenes harangued, St. Paul preached "the Unknown 
God," &c. ? I am told she is dead, dead ! Modern Greek 
is but the daughter of ancient Greek, and differs little from it. 
It is now heard in Athens, and is likely to resound again over 
Epirus, Albania, Thessaly, Thrace, and Macedonia. 

The Greek language dead I we may truly say with the great 
Apostle, "Being dead, yet she speaketh;" for in uttering the 
words telegraph, charity, thermometer, theology, astronomy, gram- 



Fifteenth Century. 2, l 7 

mar, philosophy, and a thousand similar vocables, we speak 
Greek but slightly modified. True, the ruthless Mahometan 
destroyed 120,000 MS. books in the imperial library at the sack- 
ing of Constantinople, the greatest intellectual loss since the 
destruction of the library of Alexandria. 

Chrysoloras, a native of Constantinople, styled the restorer of 
Greek in Italy, had carried Greek lore and taught his native 
tongue to the magnates and youth of Rome, Florence, Milan, 
Venice, &c, from 1400 to 141 5 ; and his Greek grammar was 
the standard for many years. Though Greek was little known 
in Northern and Western Europe, not a single Greek book being 
found in the library of the King of France, A.D. 1425, it became 
a favorite study in Italy, whither scores of Greek scholars fled 
and taught after the fall of their beloved country; and to Italy 
the students of Western Europe repaired to learn the language of 
Pythagoras. 

The Greek language dead ! our Greek dictionary in the hands 
of students contains about 50,000 words, which may be consid- 
ered as the richest vocabulary of antiquity, not even excepting 
Latin. Let a scientist perceive some new device, discovery, or 
invention, and he will resort to Greek for elements of expression. 

Thus Prof. Draper, observing the action of the sun's rays in 
producing chemical changes, gave us "actinism " from omtlv (ray). 
So with photograph, composed of cfxaros (light) and yaafew 
(write), &c 

You may ask, Why not use the corresponding plain English 
light-writing ox writing by light? Simply because Greek roots 
have a peculiar magnetism and seem to combine more readily 
and euphoniously than any others. 

Our leading languages have been thus enriched over four 
hundred years. 

If a modern Greek empire be restored ; if the 8,000,000 
Christians be encouraged to drive the 2,000,000 indolent Turks 
from Europe into Asia, and begin a new era of progress ; if a 
government, like Mahomet's, professedly founded on the sword, 
be swept out of existence, and be replaced by anything less dis- 
graceful to humanity; then, and then only, the cannons of com- 
bined Europe will not have boomed in vain at Navarino, 1827 ; 
Henry Clay's fervent speeches in the Senate of the United 



318 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200- 1600. 

States in behalf of down-trodden Greece, will not have been "as 
sounding brass and. a tinkling cymbal ; " neither will Byron and 
the many martyrs who fell for the Grecian cause, have died in 
vain. 

Let us for a moment consider the immense advantages, that 
would have accrued to mankind, if the Greek language and em- 
pire had continued with its intellectual, industrious and commer- 
cial population in the vast, fertile peninsula of Southeastern 
Europe, in Crete, Cyprus, Northern Africa, and Western Asia ; 
with Constantinople as its capital, Carthage, Cyrene, Alexandria, 
Sidon, Smyrna and Sinope as its seaports ; the Euphrates, Jordan 
and Nile as arteries for inland trade. 

What production, what industry, what commerce that empire 
would have exhibited ! Why, that vast region could have sup- 
ported two hundred millions of souls in affluence, and would 
have had a surplus to exchange with the Hyperboreans for amber, 
furs and ice, and with the Ethiopians for ivory, gold and precious 
stones, to say nothing of the intellectual treasures in the melodi- 
ous Greek tongue and its rich literature, as an expanded instead 
of a contracted language. 

In lieu of this most desirable state of things, we have had the 
indolent, cruel, intolerant and unprogressive Turk, in whose very 
atmosphere water stagnates and grass will not grow. 

Travelers, who visited parts of European Turkey and her 
isles, speak of Greek towns and villages, the dialect, manners 
and customs of whose.inhabitants seem as simple and hospitable 
as they were in the palmy days of Greece twenty-six centuries 
ago. Should not the ruthless Turk be expelled, so as to give 
Greek genius and industry a full chance to rise again ? When 
Russia had checked Turkish arrogance (in January, 187S) and 
consented to confer with the other European powers concerning 
the future status of the Christian populations in Turkey, there 
was a noble chance for the Berlin Congress of June, 18 78, to 
perform a statesmanlike duty towards the Greek and Sclavonic 
races under the Turks. We hoped they would take as a basis 
Lord John Russell's idea and restore Greece, comprising Thes- 
saly, Albania, Macedonia, Crete, the Egean and Ionian Isles, and 
all the provinces where the Greek language prevails, leaving the 
Sclavonic populations in Turkey the choice to join the Greeks, 



Fifteenth Century. 319 

or unite among themselves, and not force them, like cattle, to be 
under this or that rule, when humanity and its restless masses 
yearn for Magna Charta and government by consent, as may be 
realized by the annexation of Cyprus to England. Oh, could 
rulers and statesmen but understand that yearning, wisely humor 
its gradual expanse,and thus avert national and social convulsions ! 

The author spent two years among the simple-hearted Sclavonic 
peoples, extending from the Adriatic to the Black Sea, desolated 
by the late Turko-Russian war. They are an industrious race, that 
has been oppressed for centuries. They have as fertile a country 
as any in Europe, and if left to themselves would clear and cul- 
tivate it with diligence and thrift. The Sclavonic race and its 
language, the latest of the Ario-Japhetic streams from Asia to 
Europe, are bound to have their development and expansion. 
The sooner the Greco-Latin and Gotho-Germanic nations realize 
that inevitable tendency the better for the world's progress. 

We cannot close this account of Moslem tyranny and destruc- 
tion without giving one specimen of their many contrivances to 
conquer, pillage, torment, and harass their Christian subjects and 
neighbors. For three consecutive centuries they yearly selected 
one thousand of the brightest and finest-looking Christian lads 
in their dominions, tore them from their parents, trained them to 
renounce their religion and adopt Mahometism ; then they were 
exclusively educated for a military career. The discipline they 
had to undergo was rigid ; trained to unconditional obedience 
and to endure fatigue, hunger, and pain, not only without mur- 
muring, but with fortitude, sure that immediate reward, honor, 
and promotion, would follow such endurance ; removed from 
home and kindred, gorgeously dressed and equipped, and well 
paid, they were encouraged to gratify every sensual desire and 
every violent passion. Thus this martial fraternity grew up to 
become the pliable tool of Mahometan tyranny ; they were the 
atrociously renowned Janissaries. After this fiendish institu- 
tion had florished three hundred years, its patrons boasted of 
having made 300,000 proselytes. By such means have those 
Mahometan Cains murdered the innocent Abels and destroyed 
the most prosperous of ancient empires. Is it not time they 
should, like Cain of old, be "sent to some land of Nod, if any 
such could be found ? 



320 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1 200-1 600. 

If asked, where is the Greek language, you may safely answer : 
it encircles the globe ; wherever there is a real scholar, there is 
the Greek language, for no one can be a scholar without it. 

In this connection we must not omit the correspondence be- 
tween C. J. Fox and G. Wakefield, in which the former says : 

" I think a lexicon in Greek and English is a work much wanted ; and, if 
you can have patience to execute such a work, I shall consider it a great ben- 
efit to the cause of literature. ... I see innumerable advantages in an 
English interpretation, to which the only objection is, that it will confine the 
sale to this country ; and how far it may be possible to get two thousand 
subscriptions for a work useful only to English readers of Greek, I am afraid 
is doubtful." 

In America, Plato's language found a powerful champion in 
the classic scholar, John Pickering, who, in the Preface to his 
Greek Dictionary of 1826, says : " It may excite wonder that we 
should have been destitute of the most important of all books : 
A Greek and English Lexicon for the use of schools? Hence, 
John Pickering wrote the first Greek dictionary with English 
interpretations, in the United States. It was ready for the press 
in 1814; but as no publisher could be found till 1826, Jones' 
Greek and English Lexicon was issued three years sooner in 
England. 

Hitherto Greek grammars and dictionaries had been written in 
Latin, which greatly retarded the progress of pupils ; because 
they had to master Latin before they could understand a word 
of Greek. We need hardly say that since the Greek classics 
have been printed in the vernacular dialects, the study of Greek 
has become more and more popular throughout the civilized 
world. I am inclined to think the American graduates have a 
more general idea of Greek literature, while the Europeans have 
a more thorough knowledge of Greek roots. This may be due 
to the difference of time they comparatively employ in their 
studies. Hence we realize that a Greek and English dictionary 
was a desideratum in 1800, which only appeared in England, 
1823, and in America, 1826. 

Thomas Occleve florished in this age ; like his eminent patron 
and friend, Chaucer, he was bred for the law. Seventeen of his 
poems are extant, among which the principal are : " Table of a 
certain Empress" u Pa?itasthicon to the King? "Consolation, 



Fifteenth Century. 321 

offered by an Olde Man" u Merey, as defined by St. Austin" 
"T/ie Letter of Cupid" "The Stoiy of Jonathas" and his poetic 
translation of u De Regimine Prineipis" by Romanus ^Egidius, 
which has been considered Occleve's masterpiece. Some of 
these titles so prejudiced hypercritics, that neither the author nor 
his works had any chance for a fair criticism. William Browne, 
1613, embodied in his (i Sfiepherd's Pipe" Occleve's "Story of 
Jonathas," on which he has these expressive lines : 

" Well I wot, the man, that first 
Sung this lay, did quench his thirst 
Deeply, as did ever one, 
In the Muses' Helicon." 

True, Bale, 1563, and Pits, 1616, made little case of Occleve's 
productions, of which Warton, 1790, observes: "The titles of 
his pieces indicate a coldness of genius. He has given no sort 
of embellishment to his original." George Mason, who edited 
Occleve's poems from MSS., 1796, says : 

" Occleve, indeed, adheres closely to the substance of the story, yet em- 
bellishes in various places by judicious insertions of his own. The tale would 
absolutely appear in certain parts as if it had been mutilated, were it not for 
these additional touches. In some of them there is a strain of pleasantry 
similar to that of Prior." 

Hallarn seemed rather bitter on Occleve, when he wrote : 
" His poetry abounds with pedantry and is destitute of all grace 
and spirit." 

As opinion is so divided on this early bard, we give first an 
emotional, next a religious specimen from his Muse, so as to en- 
able readers to judge for themselves : 

I. 

" But well awaye ! so is myne herte wo, 
That the honour of English tonge is dede, 
Of which I wont was han counsel and rede. 
O, mayster dere ! and fadir reverent ! 
My mayster Chaucer, flower of eloquence ! 

" What eylid deth ? alas ! why wode he sle the? 
O deth ! thou didst no harm singuliere 
In slaughter of him, bote all the land it smerteth. 
But nathelesse, yit, hast owe no power 

His name to sle," &c 

21 



322 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1 200-1 600. 

This affectionate, well-expressed elegy alone suffices to modify 
Hallam's sweeping dictum; for it not only "abounds with grace 
and spirit" but with the tendeiest feelings of appreciation and 
gratitude. To Occleve's reverence for his great predecessor we 
owe the only existing likeness of Chaucer : 

II. 

" As that I walkid in the monthe of May 
Besyde a grove, in an hevy musynge, 
Flowers diverse I sy right fresh and gay, 
And briddes herde I eek lustyly synge, 
That to myn herte yaf a confortynge. 
But evere o thoght me stang unto the herte, 
That dye I sholde and hadde no knowynge, 
Whanne, ne vvhidir I sholde hennes sterte." 

This stanza evinces deep religious thought, felicitously expressed 
in connection with musing amid flowers and songs of birds. 

Thus critics, who forget comparative advance in thought, lan- 
guage, and literature, will differ as to authors : King Ethel- 
bert's Code, A.D. 597, Caedmon's productions, 680, Beowulf 
and the Saxon Chronicle, must be judged as belonging to the in- 
fancy of England's language; King Alfred's. 900, and Alfric's, 
1000, as pertaining to its childhood ; Chaucer's, 1400, and Spen- 
ser's, 1600, as belonging to its youth; whereas, Shakespeare's, 
1616, Milton's, 1674, Newton's, 1727, Scott's, 1832, and Long- 
fellow's, 1875, must be viewed as belonging to the manhood of 
England's idiom. Those who, in writing or reading a treatise on 
the English language or literature, expect to find a Chaucer or 
Spenser in the Anglo-Saxon period, A.D. 597—1200, a Shake- 
speare, Scott, or Longfellow in the Franco-English Period, A.D. 
1 200-1 600, commit an egregious anachronism and hazard being 
one-sided and partial. Had the erudite Hallam considered for 
one moment that Occleve wrote nearly four centuries ago, and 
during the sophomore years of the English language, his criticism 
would have been less sweeping. 

Of Gower, Hallam says : " He is always polished, sensible, 
perspicuous, and not prosaic in the reproachful sense of the 
word." We took an Extract from Gower's masterpiece, " Confes- 
sio Amantis" which required 200 common words to furnish 100 
different words, and contained fifty-four per cent, particles; 



Fifteenth Century. 323 

whereas an Extract from Occleve's poems required but 191 com- 
mon words to furnish 100 different words, and contained only 
fifty per cent, particles. Hence, Occleve is less prosaic than 
Gower, and should therefore be less harshly treated by Hallam, 
who is so opposed to prosaicism. We consider Occleve's 
writings more perspicuous than Gower's. Sensible is rather a 
vague term when applied to an author's style. If readers will 
please compare our Extract from Occleve's invocation to Health 
with our Extract from Gower's " Confessio Amantis" they may yet 
more fully realize Hallam' s hypercriticism on this early poet, who 
was about thirty years of age when Chaucer and Gower died. 
Coleridge, speaking of Chaucer's friend, says : "The almost 
worthless Gower T Alexander Smith observes : " The ' moral 
Gower' was Chaucer's friend, and inherited his tediousness and 
pedantry without a sparkle of his fancy, passion, humor, wisdom, 
and good spirits." Thus three cotemparary modern critics speak 
of one and the same author of the fourteenth century, simply be- 
cause they overlooked the time and circumstances in which 
Gower wrote, and allowed scope to their first impulse. 

We read in Oliphant's "Sources of Standard English," 1873 : 

" The middle of the fifteenth century was the time when English, as it 
were, made a fresh start, and was prized by high and low alike." 

Extracts and Tables from Bishop Peacock, Lydgate, Occleve, 
Caxton, Wynkin de Worde, and Fabian, showing the style and 
numeric origin of their vocabulary. 



324 Franco -English Period, A.D. 1 200-1600. 

Extract from Bishop Peacocks "Repressor of over much Blaming 
of the Clergy" A.D. 1450. 

" Certis in this wise and in this now seid maner and bi this now seid cause 
bifille the rewful and wepeable destruccioun of the worthi citee and universite 
of Prage, and the hoole rewme of Beeme, as y have had ther of enformacioun 
ynoug. And now, aftir the destruccioun of the rewme, the peple ben glad for 
to resorte and turne agen into the catholik and general faith and loore of the 
chirche, and in her pouerte bildith up agen what was brent and throwun doun, 
and noon of her holdingis can thrive. But for that Crist in his prophecying 
muste needis be trewe, that ech kingdom devidid in hem silf schal be destruyed, 
therefore to hem bifille the now seid wrecchid myschaunce. God for his merci 
and pitee kepe Ynglond, that he come not into lijk daunce. But forto turne 
here fro agen unto our Bible men, y preie ge seie ge to me, whanne among 
you is rise a strijf in holdingis and opiniouns (bi cause that ech of you trustith 
to his owne studie in the Bible aloon, and wole have alle truthis of mennys 
moral conversacioun there groundid,) what iuge mai therto be," &c. 

193 common words, among which 



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with 








tt 





(< 


by 








a 


1 


u 


Pronoun 


ISt 


person 


a 


4 


a 


u 


2 


tt 




tt 


4 


u 


u 


3 


(C 




tt 


8 


tt 


be, aux. 








tt 


4 


tt 


have, " 








tt 


2 


tt 


shall, " 








tt 


1 


tt 


will, " 








tt 


1 


tt 


may, " 








tt 


1 


a 


do, " 








u 





u 


that 








<i 


4 


tt 


and 








(( 


13 


tt 








other particles, 


76 
27 





103 particles. 

Hence, Bishop Peacock's style requires about 193 common words to furnish 
100 different words, and averages about fifty-three per cent, particles, and 
forty-eight per cent, repetitions. 



Fifteenth Century. 



325 



Co 

I 

1 



"ki 






> 



^ 



S 

S? 






?5 



w 




O 




<J 


t3 




O 




k; 


<: 


<* 


s 


J 


w 


fa 








K 


w 


h 
O 



l§ 





30 


a 








X 


Si oU 

000 


"• fi a ""S •• 




litel'i-s 


a 



OhJfa<Ofi» 



<"•- 3 
as.j 



re'-g-a u « ~ 



' E O g 



c °f > <*- v c B 
;c§ :pco rt i! 









«S 



r.2 C g So 

c o 1- a 



c.2 . -s « 



>'^ 



.2 SI'S «g S-G" <r . 
t> a w ~-~ > ? c v s c 

O « 3 <— t, *■ u 



c c y 3 « u a s 
S|-aSTTa'&g 

hn n- K* ai ^ 5 



1--0 



'■S.U-fi 



3 ■§ 






6 "* 



326 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200-1600. 

Extract from John Lyd gate's famous Ballad : "London Lyck- 
penny" 1450. 

*' To London once my steps I bent, 

Where trouth in no wyse should be faynt ; 

To Westmynster I forthwith went, 

To a man of law to make complaynt ; 

I said for Marie's love, that holy Saynt, 

Pity the poore that wolde procede ! 

But for the lacke of mony % I could not spede. 

And, as I thrust the presse amonge, 

By froward chance, my hood was gone ; 

Yet for all that I stay'd not longe, 

Till att the Kynge Benche I was one, 

Before the judge I kneel'd anone, 

And prayed hymm for Goddes sake to take hede ; 

But for lacke of mony, I might not spede. 

Benythe them satte clerkes, a grett rout, 

Whych faste dyd wryte by one assente, 

There stode up one and cryde about, 

"/Rycharde ! Roberte ! and John of Kent," 

I wyst not well what thys man ment, 

He cryed out thryse there indede. 

But he that lack d mony myght not spede. 

Unto the common plase I yode thro, 

Wheare sate one with a sylken hode ; 

I dyde him reverence (I ought to do so), 

I told my case there as well as I colde ; 

How my goodes were defrauded me by falshood ; 

I gat not a move of his mouth for my mede, 

And for the lacke of mony I colde not spede." 



202 common words, among which 



The 




occurs 


3 times. 


have, 


aux. 


occurs 


O 


times. 


a 






tt 


3 


u 


shall, 


tt 


t< 


I 


<< 


of 






tt 


4 


tc 


will, 


u 


tt 


1 


t< 


to 






tt 


6 


tt 


may, 


tt 


u 


2 


tt 


from 






tt 





tt 


do, 


tt 


u 


2 


n 


in 






a 


1 


u 


that 




tt 


2 


u 


with 






tt 


1 


u 


and 




tt 


3 


tt 


by 






tt 


3 


tt 












Pro. of 


ist 


person 


a 


21 


tt 








61 




u 


2d 


tt 


tt 





tt 




other 


particles, 


43 




u 


3d 


a 


" 


6 


tt 












be, aux 






tt 


2 


tt 








104 


Darticles 



Hence, Lydgate's style requires 202 common words to furnish 100 different 
words, and averages about fifty-one per cent, particles, and fifty per cent, 
repetitions. 



Fifteenth Century. 



327 







£ 




rf 


We* 


"" 


O^ 


3 


*S 


^ 


<?* 














K 
















*S 




N 




K 




-§ 












a 




S 








■ 




>' 




£ 








« 




Bq 




5 









■! 


W 

O 




< 


-K- 


t> 


^ 


O 


« 


fc 


^ 


< 


K| 


hj 


^ 


U* 


Vi 


O 










J. 


w 


->~» 


Pk 


^ 


s 


bjO 


u 






1 


a 


fc 


M 




Pn 


s 


< 


Vj 






6 


g 


& 





< 


*. 




>2 




Is 




«i 




3 








R 




M 








Si 




*^ 




8 








* 




r 








t*i 








is 




O 





s a 

OS z 

< o 



►JO 

PO{! 



3£«Ofi£ 



■a 



9 o 



10"- ^ja^^j^Q bfl 



SgepJ 3 



' 3 > T5 

?"3 <u u ? 



- i--p. 



ilfllHlfs|fl!§| 



^ 



*S 



3 3\$ 



* 



328 Franco-E7iglish Period, A.D. 1 200-1 600. 
Extract from Thomas Occleve's Poems, 1454. 

INVOCATION TO HEALTH, ENTITLED : 

" La Male Regie de T. Occleve" —{The Mis-Rule of T. Occleve.) 

" O precious tresor incomparable, 
O ground and roote of prosperitee, 
O excellent richesse commendable 
Aboven alle that in eerthe be, 
Who may susteene thyn adversitee ? 
What wight may him avante of worldly welthe, 
But if he fully stand in grace of thee, 
Eerthely god, piler of lyf, thou helthe? 

" Whil thy power and excellent vigour 
(As was pleasant un to thy worthynesse) 
Regned in me, and was my governour, 
Than was I wel ; tho felte I no duresse, 
Tho farsid was I with hertes gladnesse ; 
And now my body empty is, and bare 
Of joie, and ful of seekly hevynesse, 
Al poore of ese, and ryche of evel fare. 

"If that thy favour twynne from a wight, 
Smal is his ese, and greet is his grevance. 
Thy love is lyf, thyn hate sieeth downright. 
Who may compleyne thy disseverance 
Bettre than I, that of myn ignorance 
Un to seeknesse am knyt, thy mortal fo? 
Now can I knowe feeste fro penance, 
And whil I was with thee cowde I not so. 

" My grief and bisy smert cotidian 
So me labouren and tormenten sore, 
That what thow art now wel remembr I can, 
And what fruyt is in keepynge of thy lore." * 

191 common words, among which 



The 




occurs 





a 






<< 


I 


of 






it 


9 


to 






a 


2 


from 






" 


2 


in 






tt 


4 


with 






tt 


2 


by 






tt 





Pronoun of 1st 


person 


It 


13 


(< 


2d 


" 


" 


*3 


<< 


3d 


c« 


tt 


4 


be, aux. 






(( 


2 



have, 


aux. 


occurs 


O 


times. 


shall, 


it 


<( 





tt 


will, 


u 


" 





" 


may, 


u 


tt 


3 


" 


do, 


<< 


n 





tt 


that 




«< 


3 


" 


and 




<( 


11 
69" 


<« 




other 


particles, 


28 
97 


particles 



Hence, Occleve's style requires about 191 common words to furnish 100 
different words, and averages about fifty per cent, particles and forty-nine 
per cent, repetitions. 



* This Extract is from a MS. of Geo. Mason, L.E., 1796, p. 27. 



Fifteenth Century. 



329 



§ h£ 



& 



•> 



£w 


1 


W&< 


Cfl>l 


6^ 


u 


*-;CJ 


H 


35 


S 

H 




Ui 



o < 
h h 
< y 






^o 



!-#.B'J3 



* v « bo 

5 > ?». >- ai C .. 

cs s 5^ o z >> P 



S 



XT D . 

Ei3 



= c j= bfl u 



***£<£ <« g o S 3 £-a »' 

bfl -O w 



i2 S S M— 



«S 3_C c ? « 



V 

- V o 
O *■» -H e 



J-3 £ 






* £«n»{jj:2:Sg, 



« U 4) r 






4) J? 



s 8* yu g 
o g 5'n g 



j;-a> " r ft" o^ 



* I 

1 3 V 



<3 I 



330 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200 -1600. 



Extract from a Fac-Simile of Caxtorfs "Gatne of C/iesse" * 

The first book printed by him in England, London, 1474 — Black letter, without any numbering 

of pages. 

The jjj tractate of the offices of the comyn peple. the first chappitre is of the 
office of the labouretirs and werkmen. ca. j. 

"Or so moche as noble persones can not revle ne go of uerne without the 
seruyse and werke of the people. Than hit behoueth to deuyse the oultrages 
and the offices of the werkmen-j- than I shal beginne first at the first pawn that 
is in the playe of the Chesse and signifieth a man of the comyn peple 011 fote 
for they be al named pietons, that is as moche to say footmen | and thenne 
we wyl beginne at the pawn, whyche standeth to fore the rooke on the right 
syde of the Kyng-j- For as moche as thys pawne appartaineth to serve the 
vycayre or lyeuetenaunt of the Kyng and other officers | vnder hym of necessa- 
ries of vytaille | and this maner of peple is fured and ought be maad in the 
forme and shappe of a man holdyng in his right hande a spade or shouel-f- and 
a rodde in the iyft hand the spade or shouel is for to delue and labour there- 
wyth the erthe-f- and the rodde is for to dryue and conduyte with al the leftys 
unto her pasture | also he ought to haue on his gyrdel a sarpe or croked hachet 
for to cutte of the superfluytees of the vignes and trees | and we rede in the 
bible that the first labourer that euer was. was caym the first sone of ada that 
was so euvl that he slewe his broder abel," &c. 



241 common words, among which 



The 






occurs 


31 


times. 


have, 


aux. occurs 





times. 


a 








<( 


5 


a 


shall, 


<< tt 


1 


a 


of 








it 


17 


a 


will, 


tt a 


I 


tt 


to 








tt 


7 


u 


may, 


a u 





u 


in 








tt 


5 


«< 


do, 


a a 





tt 


with 








tt 


1 


a 


that 




4 


a 


from 








tt 





u 


and 




H 


tt 


by 








it 





tt 






9S 
37 




Pro. 


of 1 st 

2d 


person 
tt 


tt 

u 


3 



tt 




other particles, 




<< 
be, aux. 


3d 


t( 




6 
3 


a 






1351 


^articles 



Hence, Caxton's style requires about 241 common words to furnish 100 
different words, and averages about fifty-seven per cent, particles and fifty- 
nine per cent, repetitions. 



* There is a copy of this book in the Astor Library, New York. 



Fifteenth Century. 



331 



1 


•5 

br 


2w 

</3> 


< 




w 


ro 


H a, m M H 


« | 


8 1 


J 








4 


°N 


6 H 


y 




1 " hJO 

r" C O O .: 








| 








h K-S-^ 






,« 


3 

c 


5 




1 ■• -c^ c •• .. .. OOcj 






i 


■d 

c 




2> 




8 "rC (- ^ cs.yjjj- j 


| 




it 


1 




£2 




0." " 


| 


H 


1 


•a 
1 




< 




m^o 






X 




y 














Ui 




V j 


- 


■gg 








S 






5 
u < 


•Q 

g 


"o 3 


c* 






af 







O 












5 




















3 


I2 

£ ° 






« 

5 


c 
u 
E * 


M ^ 


c 

J3 


H -V, 


a h 




i 


* 


11 




jj 


v. 

3 


V 


3 




^ 


a 1 




^ 


53 




_ 




$ 


| 


'■E 
&>■£ 




< 




«J « u vi v 

11118 


10 


| 


ro 




J3 .'£ 


< 
O 

1-1 

fa 


y 
z 
< 

S 
2 

Id 



6 

s 


1 

<0 






5 

^3 


be i>i 


is 


> c fcfl — -S 


.E .*> 




1^ 


? 


« 

«§"E 

•5 



w 


O 
O 

6 

X 
H 
> 
u 


5 


i^g-ig|5-a|i , Bj;& , gi.-s-s 


1 


u 




■ft 




n 


4 

ir 


■ & 

3-° 
tr. d 


y 

H 

w 
W 

PL, 










.3 


§ 


< 






.« 


t) 








■3 


.2 u 

i 

c 
rt 
u 
*} 

C 

•E 

0. 


O 

< 


s 

i 

H 

■< 

6 


1 











5 




w ™ 3 b S 5 a to S « « bits 

JJ ^>£^ £ .§-5 «S« SjKS 

c "*-— g 3 


P7 




I 


r- ■" 


c 

c 

V 

1/1 




8 

K 
O 
y 

3 
< 




^ = g-&3^S| > & > 2S.|2iS^|| 

«£ S'S.rt e h ii w — J 3 £>•" >! n S.«JE 
rt -T 


•Vl 


•8 










8 


C\ 




u 


M 








^ 

K 


i 


2 




6 

u 
< 


« 

^ 


2^ 

« > 

is v 


N 




S2 


5 


£ 




K 

X 
H 



















£ 








6 


£ 






« 




























332 Franco-English Period, A.D. 1 200-1 600. 

Extract from Wynkin de Wordis Preface to Trevisds tra?isla- 
tion of Higde?is u Polychronicon " * (Universal History), re- 
published by Wynkin de Worde, Lo?idon, 1495. 

" Grete thankynges, laude and honour we merytoryously ben bounde to 
yelde and offre unto wryters of hystoryes, whiche gretely haue prouffyted our 
mortall lyfe, that shewe unto the reders and heerers by what thynge is to be 
desyred and what is to be eschewed. For those thynges whiche our progeny- 
tours by the taste of bitternesse and experyment of grete Ieopardyes have en- 
seygned, admonested, and enformed us excluded fro suche perylles, to knowe 
what is prouffytable to oure lyfe and acceptable, and what is unprouffytable 
and to be refused. He is and euer hath ben reputed the wysest, whiche by 
the experience of the aduerse fortune hath beholden and seen the noble cytees, 
maners and varyaunt condycions of the people of many dyuerse Regions. For 
in hym is presupposed the loore of wysedome and polycye, by the experyment 
of Ieopardyes and perylles whiche haue grown of folye in dyuerse partyes and 
contrees. Yet he is more fortunate and maye be reputed as wyse, yf he gyue 
attendaunce withoute tastynge of the stormes of aduersyte that may by the 
redyng of hystoryes conteynynge aduei-se customes, condycions, lawes, and 
actes of sondry nacyons come unto the knowleche and understandyng of the 
same wysedome and polycye. In whiche hystoryes so wryten in large and 
adourned volumes he syttynge in his chamber or studye maye rede, knowe, 
and understande the polytyke and noble actes of alle the worlde as of one 
cytee. And the conflyctes, errours, troubles and vexacyons," &c. 



244 common words, among which 



The 




occurs 


16 


times. 


have, 


aux. 


occurs 


5 


times. 


a 






(< 


O 


«< 


shall 


<( 




a 





a 


of 






tt 


15 


tt 


will, 


u 




a 





tt 


to 






tt 


6 


tt 


may, 


u 




a 


3 


a 


from 






tt 


1 


tt 


do, 


tt 




tt 





a 


in 






a 


5 


tt 


that 






a 


2 


a 


with 






a 





a 


and 






tt 


23 


tt 


by 






a 


5 


tt 










— 




Pro. of 1st 
" 2d 


person 


<« 
tt 


5 



n 




other 


pa 


r tides 


99 
24 




" 3d 

be, aux. 


(i 


it 
tt 


6 

7 


a 
a 










123 


particles. 



Hence, Wynkin de Worde's style required about 244 common words to 
furnish 100 different words, and averaged about fifty per cent, particles and 
sixty per cent, repetitions. 



* There is a copy of this book in the Astor Library, New York. 



Fifteenth Century. 



333 



8 
| 












s 
•a 

I 

8 



a: a, 



as Z 
< < 



5.. 

8$ 



t-xOO f) ih H 



_c/5 a ■• 
•a 5 M ^ o 



■ifi 

JO 






ui X' 



2^ rt ,« U £ u u « 



OS 



2*\£v5J= 






S&! 



1 


large 
adourned 
volumes 
chamber 
polytyke 
errours 
troubles 


O 

i * 

X 

> 




fortune 

noble 

Cytees 

maners 

varyaunt 

condycions 

lawes 

people 

dyuerse 

regions 

presupposed 

polycye 

folye 

partyes 

contrees 

attendaunce 

conteynynge 

customes 

actes 
nacyons 


honour, n. 
merytoryously 

offre, v. 
hystoryes 
prouffyted 

mortall 
ensamples 

passed 

dcsyred 

eschewed 

progenytours 

taste, n. 
jeopardyes 
enseygned 
en formed 

perylles 
acceptable 

refused 

reputed 
experience 


G 

1 




Laude 

experiment 

admonested 

excluded 

adverse 

studye 

conflyctes 


K 



334 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1 200-1600. 

Extract from Robert Fab iaii s " Concordaunce of History es" about 

A.D. 1498. 

"In this batayl {Agincourf) were slayne of the nobles of France, the dukes 
of Barre, of Alanson and of Braban, viii. erlis, and barons aboue lxxx. with 
other gentylmen in cote armours, to the nombre of iii. M. and aboue ; by 
reason of whiche pyllage the Englisshmen were greatly auaunced, for the 
Frenshmen were soo assuryd of victory by reason of their great nombre, that 
they brought the more plentye of rychesse with theym, to the ende to bye 
prysoners eyther of other. And also after the victory by them opteyned, to 
shewe vnto Englisshmen their pryde and pompous araye ; but God, whiche 
knewe the presumpcion and pompe, tournyd all thynge contrary to their 
myndes and ententes. Whan y kynge by grace and power of God, more than 
by force of man, had thus goten this triumphaunt victorye, and retournyd his 
people from the chase of theyr enemyes, tydynges were brought vnto him 
that a new hoost of Frenshmen were commynge toward hym. Wherfore he 
anon commaunded his people to be enbatayled, and that done made proclama- 
cions thorugh the host, that every man shuld slee his prysoner ; by reason of 
which proclamacion, y duke of Orleaunce and the other lordes of Fraunce were 
in such fere, that they anon by the lycence of the kynge, sent such worde vnto 
y sayd host y they withdrewe them and the kynge with his prysoners vpon 
the morowe folowynge toke his way towarde his towne of Calays, where he 
restyd hym durynge this mayres tyme." 



220 common words, among which 



The 






occurs 


16 


times. 


have, 


aux. 


occurs 


I 


times. 


a 






<< 


I 


it 


shall. 


(< 


a 


I 


(« 


of 






<< 


16 


it 


will, 


c< 


tt 





tt 


to 
from 






tt 


9 

1 


tt 
it 


may, 
do, 




tt 
a 






tt 


in 






" 


3 


tt 


that 




a 


5 


<< 


with 






«« 


4 


tt 


and 




tt 


11 


<i 


by 
Pro. 


r 1st 

2d 


person 
u 


<« 
(< 

<< 


6 




tt 
t< 




other 


particles, 


94 
26 




" 3^ 
be, aux. 


" 


a 
a 


15 

5 


tt 








120 


particles. 



Hence, Fabian's style required about 220 common words to furnish 100 
different words, and averaged fifty-five per cent, particles and fifty-five per 
cent, repetitions. 



Fifteenth Century. 



335 



00 

as 



3 



b Ei 

, rt 

§ S 



51 



v a 

M ■§ 

^ s 

J o 



5, 

V 






Si 



V 



I 



3» 

3§ 



u 3 



!o 

13-3 



« g B S- 



IOc/3 



►s 


,C 






a 


3 
in 


to 





g ox: rt-o E^ icjo 
o ? ~ 2 



V 

u <u o ^t; a u 






IS - ^oj= ='-r c-~ j= J! o.y n; © 3 
■£ «u' j< u t; rt £ x> £ ~ E-^= « ^ ■£ - 






o p c M p."" C p, 



^•SLhSLS 



?s-«e else i^S32 c «§£&>• 



6 
&p a 



336 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200- 1600. 



Synopsis of the differ e?it words from the six Tables of the Fif- 
teenth Century : 



Greek : 

Latin : 

French : 

Italian : 1 J 

Anglo-Saxon: 214^ 

Gothic : 1 



ft \ Greco-Latin : 
176 f 



193 



Danish : 
Dutch : 
German : 
Welsh : 
Scotch : 
Irish : 



Gotho-Germanic: 224 



3 

1 

5J 
1 \Z 



Total of the different 
words : 422. 



Hence, the style of Franco-English in the fifteenth 
century shows a vocabulary of different words, con- 
taining about 

53 per cent. Gotho-Germanic, including 51 per cent. 

Anglo-Saxon ; 
46 " Greco-Latin, including 42 per cent. 

French ; 
1 " Celtic. 

Two of the 214 different Anglo-Saxon words, or 
about one per cent., are now obsolete. 

Five of the 176 different French words, or about 
two per cent., are now obsolete. 

Eighty-eight of the 214 different Anglo-Saxon 
words, or about forty-two per cent, are now spelt 
as they were in the fifteenth century. 

Fifty- four of the 176 different French words, or 
about thirty-one per cent., are now spelt as they 
were in the fifteenth century. 



Fifteenth Century. 337 

Foreigners think in England education is confined to, and 
stations of honor and trust monopolized, by the nobility ; but, 
after witnessing such shining examples of intellectuality as Cax- 
r.on, Wynkin de Worde and Fabian among the mercantile and 
mechanic ranks, we must confess, that education could not have 
been at a low ebb, and personal merit undervalued, where men 
rose from the people to literary fame and political preferment. 

To omit the pioneer linguistic work here would be an unpar- 
donable anachronism. That book is Cardinal Ximenes' " Polyglot 
Bible " of Alcala, styled in Prescott's " History of Ferdinand and 
Isabella " : 

" A monument of piety, learning and munificence, which entitles its author 
to the gratitude of the whole Christian world." 

The completion of that wonderful book, also known as the 
" Complutesian Polyglot," took fifteen years (A.D. 1502-1517), 
and cost Ximenes, besides his own labor thereon, 50,000 ducats. 
It was printed in four languages and six folio volumes. Soon 
Plantin's " Polyglot " appeared at Antwerp, 1572 • De Sacy's, at 
Paris, 1645; and Walton's, at London, 1657, which "among 
them contain the Hebrew, Chaldee, Syriac, and Samaritan texts, 
with Latin versions of each ; the Septuagint, the Greek of the 
New Testament, the Italic and the Vulgate, with some of the 
Hebrew and Chaldee Paraphrases, and copious indexes and 
grammatic illustrations." Hutter's " Polyglot," issued at Nurem- 
berg, 1599, is in twelve languages: Hebrew, Syriac, Greek, 
Latin, German, Bohemian, Italian, Spanish, French, English, 
Danish, and Polish. No doubt Origen's "Hexapla" a collection 
of the Scriptures in six languages, written by that learned Greek 
Father, about A.D. 235, suggested the idea of our Polyglot Bibles. 
Polyglot is formed from 71-oAvs, many, and yAorrra, tongue or lan- 
guage, and means many languages. Here again may be noticed 
the advantage of this Greek derivative of eight letters, whereas 
the corresponding English contains thirteen. Thus did the study 
of the Scriptures become the dawn of our modern science, " Com- 
parative Philology ,"in which Bopp, Burnouf, Adelung, Sir William 
Jones, Whitney, Max Miiller, Madame Blavatzki, &c, shine with 
such luster. 

John Alcock, Ambassador to Spain, Bishop of Ely and Chan- 



338 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200-1600. 

cellor, under Edward IV. and Henry VIII., deserves mention 
here for patronizing learning and founding "Jesus College" at 
Cambridge about 1490 ; so does Wynflete, Bishop of Winchester 
and Chancellor of England from 1456 to 1460, for his progressive 
ideas in founding "Magdalen College," at Oxford. Thus were 
the English prelates of this period champions of education. As 
Thomas Littleton's treatise on "Tenures," written by the author 
in clear and pure French of his day, has been a standard work 
in Jurisprudence, we allude to it. It is now considered as the 
basis of the laws of property in England and indispensable to 
students of English law. No wonder, English lawyers say, that 
no man can be an eminent jurist without knowing French, on 
account of the many French words in the English legal vocab- 
ulary. 

England's language, thus progressed, echoed in North America, 
whither the English sailed under Giovanni and Sebastian Cabot, 
about A.D. 1496 and 1497. It is thought they discovered Lab- 
rador or Newfoundland. A few years later the same gallant tars 
repeated their cruise and sailed southward as far as Florida. 
Now, 1878, English resounds nearly over all North America, and 
will soon echo over the New World, if Washington's straightforward 
and honest policy, as breathed in his Farewell Address, is followed. 
England, the mother country, will aid her daughter in this noble 
effort, and the world will applaud it, as shown in the cession of 
Alaska by Russia. The patent for the discovery of unknown 
regions, granted to Giovanni Cabot and his sons, by Henry 
VII. , A.D. 1497, clearly indicates England's policy concerning 
America at that early period. It has been carried out in a meas- 
ure, for the descendants of Cabot have been, and are now, among 
the honored families of New England. One of them shone in 
the Senate of the United States and became the friend of Wash- 
ington, 1789. 

We must not omit to close this century by stating, that Eng- 
land's language found its way to Prague in Central Europe, where 
John Huss translated Wickliffe's Bible into Bohemian. 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY, 



"Language is the amber in which a thousand precious and subtle thoughts have been 
safely imbedded and preserved. It has arrested ten thousand lightning flashes of genius, 
■which, unless fixed and arrested, must have been as bright, but would have also been as 
quickly passing and perishing as the lightning."— Trench's " Study of Words." 

This age witnessed the Reformation, Newspapers, Modern 
Drama, Tragedy, and Comedy. Whether considered in a moral, 
religions, or social point of view, the prominent event of this 
century was " The Reformation." As councils and counter- 
councils were convoked to discuss it ; as advocates of reform 
were martyred, and as volumes have been written on the subject, 
we shall only say that Reformation has been a great contributor 
to language, as may be noticed by her varied vocabulary : Pro- 
testant, Protestantism, Lutheran, Episcopalian, Calvinist, So- 
cinian, Baptist, Unitarian, Methodist, Universalist, &*c, &*c, 
to say nothing of the different sects that arose throughout 
Christendom, and the copious literature it has produced since 
Luther, 15 17, Henry VIII., 1528, Calvin, 1536, and opened 
their lips to protest against papal abuses. True, these three 
champions had noble predecessors in Peter de Bruys, burned 
1147; Waldo, 1179; Ockham, 1330; WicklifTe, 1377; and Huss, 
burned 1414, who, one and all, protested against the same papal 
tyranny in their day and generation, whatever else may have been 
imputed to them by treacherous priestcraft to excite the igno- 
rant and superstitious masses against these pioneers of Reform. 
Wherever Reformation existed, it gave a new elan to language. 
This was especially the case in Germany, where Luther's version 
of the Bible, 1534, was the starting and rallying point of the 
German idiom. This colossal work was a compromise between 
High and Low German. Prior to it Germany had but coarse 
provincialisms, and her scholars and literati had written in Latin. 
\s Italy dates her language to Dante, so can Germany date hers 



340 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200- 1600. 

to Luther, who may be styled not only the Father of her re- 
ligion, but of her language. England, Holland, Sweden, Den- 
mark, and Norway may trace much of their idioms to Reforma- 
tion, which ever starts and agitates thought and exercises language. 

Of the disputes, hatreds, and bloodshed, evoked by opposers 
and advocates of Reformation, it may be truly said : had the 
clergy, from pope to village priest, from prior to domicellus, 
been and remained as pure, virtuous, earnest, and industrious as 
their predecessors Bede, Wilbrord, Ceolfrid, Winfrid, and Bene- 
dict Biscop ; had the Benedictine rule that every monk must 
earn his living by some manual labor been adhered to ; had they 
heeded the dictum, "It is 7iot good that the man should be alone ; 
I will make a helpmeet for him " / in other words, had they 
continued to marry, raise families, and live natural instead of 
selfish lives, there would have been no need of Reformation. 

We should dwell on the changes brought about in England by 
Henry VIII. ; but as J. A. Froude has recently portrayed that 
important period in history with such consummate erudition, we 
refer readers to his work. 

This age saw quite a galaxy of women with rare, but varied 
gifts. We will cursorily refer to their intellectual productions, 
generous deeds, and heroic sentiments : Mary, Countess of 
Arundel, translated from English into Latin " Sentences a?id 
Memorable Actions of the Emperor Alexander Severns "; after- 
wards, " The Origin and Family of Alexander Severus, and the 
Signs that portended him the Empire" She also translated from 
Greek into Latin " Select Sentences from the Seven Greek Sages" 
" Comparisons gathered from the Books of Plato, Aristotle, 
Seneca, and other Philosophers," which she dedicated to her 
father. These were remarkable works for a lady and countess, 
who was a bright exemplar for Anna Maria von Schurmann, 
author of " Opuscnla Hebresa, Grceca" &c, and for Madame 
Dacier, who translated many Greek and Latin works. Marga- 
ret, Countess of Richmond and Derby, 1509, was renowned 
for her munificence. She founded Christ's College, 1505 ; 
St. John's College, 1508 ; the Lady Margaret Professorship 
of Divinity at Cambridge, and a like professorship at Ox- 
ford. She was, and deserved to be, the mother of a king. She 
translated several books of devotion into English, and wrote 



Sixteenth Century. 341 

"Rules of Costumes and Etiquettes." It was this zealous prin- 
cess who said : " If the Christian princes would unite and march 
against their common enemy, the Turk, she would be willing to 
follow the army as a laundress." She died 1509, three months 
after her son, Henry VII. The example of these pioneer 
authoresses stimulated the fair sex of England ; for Queen Eliza- 
beth, the Duchess of Norfolk, Lady Jane Grey, and many other 
English ladies of rank were conversant with Plato, Xenophon, 
Cicero, &c. 

William Tindale had to quit his country, because he favored the 
doctrines of Luther. He went to Antwerp, where he translated 
the New Testament into English. About this version Bishop 
Burnet relates this amusing anecdote : 

" William Tindale, a worthy native of Wales, bred at Oxford, had with 
great cost and labor printed at Antwerp (1528) an incorrect and faulty im- 
pression of the New Testament in English. While mourning over the low 
state of his finances, which would not enable him to amend his work, it 
chanced that Bishop Tonstall, passing through Antwerp, thought he could 
do no greater service to the Roman Catholic faith than by buying up Tin- 
dale's Testaments and committing them to the flames. Tindale received the 
good prelate's money with rapture, and employed it in printing a correct 
edition, which he instantly transmitted to England, whei-e it made many 
proselytes. Sir Thomas More, in 1529, expressing surprise at the frequency 
of those prohibited books, was answered in council, that it was owing to the 
liberal encouragement of Bishop Tonstall." 

Tindale' s version of the Pentateuch, in which Miles Coverdale 
aided him, appeared 1530. Soon the zealous translator was ar- 
rested, it is said, at the instigation of Henry VIII., tried for 
heresy, and, after long imprisonment, burnt at the stake at Vilvor- 
den, near Antwerp. Behold the martyr's last words : "Lord, open 
the eyes of the King of England" The Lord's prayer from Tin- 
dale's Version will show his style and vocabulary : 

" Our Father, which arte in heven, halo wed be thy name. Let thy king- 
dom come. Thy wyll be fulfilled, as well in erth as hit ys in heven. Geve 
vs this daye oure dayly breade, and forgeve vs oure ti'easpasses, even as we 
forgeve them, which treaspas vs. Leede vs not into temptacion, but delyvre 
vs from yvell. Amen." 

In Taine's "Histoire de la Litter ature Anglaise" we read : 



342 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200-1600. 

" Try to picture these yeomen, these shopkeepers, who, in the evening, 
placed this Bible on their table, and bare-headed, with veneration heard or 
read one of its chapters. Hence have sprung much of the English language 
and half of the English manners." 

Vesalius' great work, entitled "De Corporis Humani Fabrica, 
Libri Septem" 1543 (Seven Books on the Structure of the Hu- 
man Body), caused a revolution in anatomy. Senac, physician 
of Louis XV., styled it the discovery of a new world. Like most 
grand and new ideas, it evoked violent opposition, because it 
proved some of Galen's doctrines erroneous. Vesalius was born 
at Brussels, studied medicine at Montpellier and Paris, and was 
professor of anatomy at Padua. Charles V. showed sagacity in 
choosing Vesalius for his physician. Such a scientist could but 
grace the great emperor's court. It is said the Inquisition be- 
came jealous of Vesalius' influence, and was the cause of his pil- 
grimage to the Holy Land, whence on his return he was wrecked 
and perished near the Isle of Zante, A.D. 1563. From his works 
language derived new words and phraseologies. 

Paracelsus, professor of the University of Bale. 1526, burned 
Galen's works, which had been the medical authority for four- 
teen centuries. He was the founder of pharmaceutic chemistry 
and corrected the defective materia medica of his day. His col- 
leagues became jealous of his fame, and styled him quack and 
charlatan. Yet medical history has usually a section styled 
" Period of Paracelsus." His works, written in Latin, were much 
read and admired. He it was who introduced antimony, sulphur, 
mercury, iron, gold, tinctures, essences, and extracts, into the 
healing art; he first used the magnet and cured nervous and 
mental diseases. It is a suggestive item in the history of medi- 
cine, that Paracelsus, a regularly bred M.D., a professor of one of 
the most celebrated faculties of Europe, the son of a distinguished 
physician, was handed down to posterity as a charlatan and 
quack ! ! ! Vesalius was persecuted and vilified by priests, Para- 
celsus by physicians. 

Towards the beginning of the sixteenth century the Greek 
language began to attract the attention of English scholars. 

William Lily went to study it in Greece. On his return to 
England he opened a school in London, where he first taught 
Greek in 1509. Linacre went to Italy and studied Greek with 



Sixteenth Century. 343 

Chalcondylas at Florence, and medicine at Rome. On his re- 
turn he taught Greek at Oxford, and was greatly favored by 
Henry VIII., who employed him as physician and preceptor of 
Prince Arthur. 

About this period Erasmus issued the first Greek edition of 
the New Testament, which stimulated the study of Socrates' 
language more than ever. He had visited England in 1498. 
About 15 10 Erasmus became Professor of Greek at the Univer- 
sity of Cambridge. Soon the monks considered Erasmus' version 
of the Scriptures as an innovation, and proscribed it as "-an im- 
pioics, fanatical bokeT Henry Standish, a D.D., ridiculed Eras- 
mus for his attachment to Greek, and called him "Graeculus iste" 
which became a synonymous term for heretic. A preacher at St. 
Mary's, Oxford, denounced the study of Greek with bitterness. 
When this was mentioned before Henry VIII., he decreed that the 
study of Greek should be encouraged throughout his dominions. 

Now the court chaplain began to preach against the scriptural 
elucidations, that were fostered by the study of Greek. The king 
conferred on the subject with Sir Thomas More, who assured the 
monarch that he was more reconciled to Greek, since he found 
that it was derived f7'om Hebrezu ! Henry, observing this utter 
ignorance, ordered his chaplain to say no more on that subject 
before him. 

The discussion became so animated in the English universities 
that two parties were formed, one styled " Greeks" the other 
" Trojans." The Trojans, supported by the monks, being the 
strongest, assailed the Greeks in the streets with hisses and other 
insults ; but as truth, progress, and wisdom had the elite of Eng- 
land on their side, the Greek language became a classic and 
favorite study throughout the British Empire. 

In 1536 Henry VIII. instituted a professorship of Greek at 
Cambridge, and invited Erasmus to England, in order to work 
with John Cheke to create a taste for that branch of knowledge. 
Cheke became Greek professor at Cambridge, 1540. About the 
same time the king founded a professorship of Hebrew in the 
same university. Thenceforth the English language could de- 
rive ancient linguistic lore from original sources. No doubt, 
many of the Greek and Hebrew roots, now in the English idiom, 
owe their introduction to that period. 



344 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1 200-1600. 

According to Barrington, anatomy was favored by a law, 1540, 
allowing the united Companies of Barbers and Surgeons yearly 
the bodies of four criminals to dissect. This science formed a 
streamlet that carried its tribute of scientific terms into the Eng- 
lish idiom. Branching into osteology, myology, physiology, phren- 
ology, comparative anatomy, &>c, it has ever since widened its 
domain and increased the English vocabulary. Thus has lan- 
guage been enriched from century to century, from year to 
year, by tributaries of new sciences, devices, inventions, and 
discoveries. 

We must not omit here a work that made an epoch in science : 
Copernicus' " De Orbium Celestium Revolntionibus" (Revolu- 
tions of the Celestial Bodies), written about 1530, and printed 
1543. In this sublime work the Polish sage confirms the idea of 
Pythagoras, who, 500 B.C., taught that the sun is the center of 
the solar system, and the theory of Philolaus, who, 350 B.C., 
claims that the earth, besides its revolution around the sun, has 
a rotation on its own axis. Copernicus also suggested, in his 
treatise on the solar system, that gravitation is not a central 
tendency, but an attraction common to matter, and probably ex- 
tending to the heavenly bodies, which was a hint at Sir Isaac 
Newton's subsequent discovery. His book not only modified 
geography, astronomy, and navigation, but agitated the whole 
scientific world. Under the flimsy pretext that it gainsaid the 
" Sta sol" of Joshua, the pope interdicted it. During this con- 
troversy between pure science, founded on positive observation, 
and scholastic puerilities, based on mere speculations, language 
gained in vocabulary, and literature expanded. 

Copernicus died on the very day he received the first copy of 
his great work, May 24, 1543, having just strength enough to 
touch it with his hand. Could the great astronomer have dreamt 
that about A.D. 1876 a cion of the Fatherland, Dr. Schopher, 
would attempt to prove in Berli?i I ! ! that the Earth is motion- 
less ? What will, what shall, what can the world henceforth think 
of science ? 

Hitherto burnings at the stake for heresy had been the ex- 
clusive privilege of the Inquisition, under papal patronage ; now 
one was performed by Protestants : Michael Servetus was born 
in Spain, 1509; studied medicine at Paris, 1533; practised at 



Sixteenth Century. 345 

Lyons; wrote " De Trinitatis Erroribus {On the Errors of the 
Trinity), and " Christianismi Restitutio" {Christianity Restored), 
about which a controversy arose between him and Calvin, who 
informed against Servetus. The opposer of the dogma of the 
Trinity was arrested for heresy by the Inquisition, but escaped 
and sought shelter at Geneva, where the Protestants, under the 
guidance of Calvin, tried and burned him at the stake, 1553. 
Protestants and liberal Catholics have been, are, and ever will 
be branding that atrocity as worthy only of Father Dominic. 
Thus the blood of Pierre de Bruys, 1147, Huss, 1414, and Tin- 
dale, 1536, cries against the Catholics, while that of Servetus, 
1553, rises against the Protestants. 

This century witnessed the progress of an institution that ever 
did and ever will do much for the development of language, liter- 
ature, and art : that institution is the Drama, Tragedy, Comedy — 
in short, the theatre or stage. True, theatric performances origi- 
nated in the feasts of Bacchus ; they soon became a resort for 
popular amusement, instruction and refinement, where vice was 
exposed, folly ridiculed, virtue and heroism encouraged and ex- 
tolled. Much has been said and written against this popular 
school, which has been, and may be made as powerful an engine 
for good and against evil as the Pulpit, Forum, and Press — only 
do not ostracize actors, but treat them socially so that they do 
not ostracize themselves. In remote antiquity Egypt had theat- 
ricals in her mysteries, from which sprang the " Eleusinian 
Mysteries " of Greece. Also the Hindus and Chinese had, and 
have now, theatric amusements, which in India were for the 
higher castes, whereas in China they are for all classes. 

Greek and Roman civilization owes much to theatric per- 
formances, which began in the days of Themistocles, about 480 
B.C. Soon Eschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, &c, enriched the 
Greek language and literature with their immortal scenic compo- 
sitions, which have ever been models for succeeding peoples, 
languages, and literatures. The Romans copied from the Greeks 
through Accius, Plautus, and Terence ; but under the empire 
the instructive drama and innocent popular amusement degener- 
ated into vulgar buffoonery and revolting gladiatorial shows, which 
were deservedly rebuked by Christ's ethics, and stopped by the 
inroads of our Gotho-Germanic ancestors, who, though styled bar- 



346 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1 200-1600. 

barians, were horrified to witness such orgies and cruelties under 
the garb of popular amusement. 

About A.D. 380, Gregory Nyanzen wrote sacred dramas on 
the Greek model, in which he substituted Christian hymns for the 
Greek chorus. His compositions were probably the occasion of 
the Medieval " Myracle Plays," in which princes, nobles, and 
monks became dramatis personas ; in those plays Biblic passages 
and martyrdoms of saints were performed. These representa- 
tions continued, until the opening of the sixteenth century, when 
Ariosto wrote classic comedies, that were performed at Ferrara, 
about A.D. 1526. Soon Tasso introduced and popularized modern 
drama. 

The Reformation did away with "Myracle Plays" in England. 
Lord Dorset wrote the first English tragedy, styled " Ferrer and 
Porrex" (1565), of which his distinguished cotemporary, Sir 
Philip Sidney, says : " It is full of stately speeches and well-sound- 
ing phrases, climbing to the height of Seneca's style, and as full 
of notable morality." Next Sir Philip Sidney produced "The 
Lady of die May," a masque performed with eclat, 1578. About 
1580, John Lilly penned several dramas, among which figured 
"Euphues" or "Anatomy of Wit." This production was wel- 
comed with great favor at Elizabeth's court. Hallam says : "It 
deserves notice on account of the influence it had over the pub- 
lic taste." Hence the terms: Euphuistic, Euphuism, Euphuist, 
ridiculed by Scott in his "Monastery." 

Such was, is, and will be the stage. An institution, that de- 
veloped intellects like Sophocles, Terence, Tasso, Ariosto, Sher- 
idan, Shakespeare, Rev. James Townley, Lope de Vega, Calde- 
ron, Corneille, Moliere, Schiller, Goethe, &c, does credit to 
humanity, whatever pope, priest, or so-cailed moralists may say. 

If the theatre is an evil, it is certainly preferable to drinking 
and gambling establishments, dance-halls, billiard-saloons, and 
even club-houses, where men spend their evenings away from 
their families. As crowded centers must and will have amuse- 
ment of some kind, the drama, tragedy, comedy, and opera have 
been, are, and may be made intellectual and refining resorts, 
where the whole family can go together, be amused and edified. 
While at Vienna I visited the imperial "Burg Theatre," where 
moral pieces are chosen and performed by the highest and best 



Sixteenth Century. 347 

German talent. Here vice is made odious and virtue extolled, 
folly ridiculed and wisdom exalted, and the people go away con- 
tented and morally elevated. Have such in every large city ; let 
the masses have refining amusement cheap, even at public ex- 
pense, and the moral tone will rise higher and higher ; thus 
may the theatre be made a school of refinement and morals. 

As it may be of interest to Americans to know when and 
where the first regular dramatic performance was enacted in this 
country, we allude to it here : "77/<? Merchant of Venice " was 
performed to a delighted audience by a regular company of actors, 
under the management of Lewis Hallam, on the 5th of Septem- 
ber, 1752, at Williamsburg, then the capital of Virginia. Mr. 
and Mrs. Rigby seem to have been the stars of the performers. 
New York was the second city that witnessed a theatrical per- 
formance by regular actors. "The Conscious Lovers'" was 
played at the new theatre in Nassau street, September 17, 1753, 
and was pronounced a success. The Bostonians allowed no such 
doings in their midst : even as late as 1792, the authorities arrested 
the actors during the performance of "Douglas" and "The 
Poor Soldier," announced as "Moral Lectures," which caused a 
quasi riot in the American Mecca. Yet " Douglas" is a tragedy 
written by Rev. J. Home, which was performed at Edinburgh, 
1756, amid great applause, as a high-toned moral essay. We 
cannot help closing this article by what Richard H. Dana wrote 
on seeing Kean's acting : 

" We cease to consider it as mere amusement — it is a great intellectual 
feast ; and he who goes to it with a disposition and capacity to relish it, wiil 
receive from it more nourishment for his mind than he would be likely to in 
many other ways in four-fold the time. Our faculties are opened and en- 
livened by it ; our reflections and recollections are of an elevated kind, and 
the very voice, which is sounding in our ears long after we have left him, 
creates an inward harmony, which is for our good." 

Orientalists delight in telling us that Hindu drama antedates 
and surpasses anything we have. Strange, these enthusiasts see 
no merit in European discoveries, inventions and improvements, 
if they were previously known in Egypt, Assyria, India, or China ! 
They seem to give no credit to re-discoverers, re-inventors, re- 
improvers at home. 

Among the reformations of this era, none were so humane and 



348 Franco- English Period ', A.D. 1 200-1600. 

Christ-like as the "Foundling Asylum" established at Paris, 1638, 
by Vincent de Paul. No pope ever affixed Saint more de- 
servedly to any name than to that of this great philanthropist. 
Hence, Pope Clement XII. merits humanity's thanks for telling 
St. Vincent de Paul : " Well done, good and faithful servant." 
True, foundling asylums have no direct reference to language 
and literature, but as the idea has been welcomed by civilized 
nations and communities all over the Earth, it deserves mention 
in a history of language and literature. 

In 1558 England hailed the advent of Queen Elizabeth, who, 
under the tuition of the learned Ascham, became so proficient in 
classic lore, as to translate Boethius' "De Consolatione Philoso- 
phies. " into her native tongue, after it had been turned into Anglo- 
Saxon by Alfred the Great, 890, and into Franco-English by 
Chaucer, 1360. Hear how Elizabeth appreciated the merits and 
services of her tutor : when she heard of his death, she exclaimed, 
" I had rather have thrown ten thousand pounds into the sea, 
than have lost my Ascham." 

Besides reading Greek and Latin with ease, she was fluent in 
French and Italian. She refused the hand of the Duke d'Angou- 
leme, son of Francis I., King of France. She also refused Eric, 
King of Sweden, Philip, King of Spain, the Archduke Charles 
of Austria, and the Duke d'Anjou. She said to her Parliament, 
that the most flattering epitaph to her would be : " Here lies 
Elizabeth, who lived a virgin and queen." The French biog- 
rapher, in ^'Dictionnaire Universel Biographique" observes: 

" The reign of Elizabeth was one of the most beautiful spectacles that 
England has ever witnessed : her commerce extended to the four quarters of 
the globe ; great manufactories were established ; the laws became settled, 
and the police perfected. Elizabeth was opposed to luxury, proscribed car- 
riages, long cloaks, swords, and all that was superfluous in dress and armor." 

Pope Sextus V. said : 

" There were in the world but three personages who knew how to govern : 
the King of France, Henry IV., Queen Elizabeth, and himself." 

It was her policy to surround herself with the most able men in 
every department of the government. The "Invincible Armada " 
of 150 ships, manned by 30,000 Spanish warriors, was dispersed. 
Abroad she encouraged liberal religion, at home education, liter- 



Sixteenth Century. 349 

ature, science, art, and commerce. No wonder a reign which saw 
Gascoigne and Spenser, Ben Jonson and Shakespeare, should be 
called the " Elizabethan Era." Hume says of this Western 
Semiramis : " Without any violence or tumult, the whole system 
of religion was altered by the will of a young woman." 

Gascoigne, after a short military career under the Prince of 
Orange, devoted himself to literature, and headed the English 
classic poets by writing il Jocasta" a tragedy with Greek dramatis 
personce. It met with favor : hence, it was not, as usually 
claimed, Jonson, but Gascoigne, who introduced the classic 
drama in England. Afterwards appeared " Steel of Glass" (a 
satire), " Comedy of Supposes" u Arraig?tment of a Lover, 11 and 
other poems of merit, all of which attracted attention to Gas- 
coigne, who shone in Elizabeth's retinue. After thus heading 
the array of modern English literati, he died, 1577, at the early 
age of forty-two years. Of him posterity says : 

" He has much exceeded all the poets of his age in smoothness and harmony 
of versification." — Warton. 

" His minor poems have much spirit and gayety."— Hallam. 

Our Extract and Table from Spenser's "-Faerie Queene? show- 
ing his vocabulary, gives but a faint idea of his style. The bard's 
Essays consist of " Shephearde's Calendar" 1577, dedicated to 
Sir Philip Sidney ; " Colin Clout's come Home Again" 1591, dedi- 
cated to Sir Walter Raleigh ; "Astrophel" an elegy on Sir Philip 
Sidney, 1595 ; and an epithalamy on his own union with Miss 
Nagle, which Hallam calls "a splendid little poem — an intoxica- 
tion of ecstasy, ardent, noble, and pure." Spenser was "poet- 
laureate" to Queen Elizabeth. His "Faerie Queene" 1596, was 
an allegory on her reign. He was born 1553 and died 1598 ; he 
ever wished to be buried in Westminster Abbey, by the side of 
Chaucer, whom he always admired ; his wish being carried out, 
he has since rested near his great predecessor. No doubt their 
spirits hover in spheres where their union is forever indissoluble. 
As England's ablest pens traced this early bard's praises, let us 
listen to them as they float down the stream of time : 

" Whose deep conceit is such 
As passing all conceit needs no defence." 

— Shakespeare, 1600. 



350 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200- 1600. 

" Spenser had studied Virgil to as much advantage as Milton had done 
Homer." — Dryden, 1700. 

" He casts a delicacy and grace over all his compositions." — Warton, 1781. 

" If Ariosto transports us into the region of romance, Spenser's poetry is 
all fairy-land. " — Hazlitt, 1830. 

" No poet has ever had a more exquisite sense of the beautiful than Spen- 
ser." — Wilson, 1 85 4. 

Spenser had worthy cotemporaries in Italy, France, and Por- 
tugal. Ariosto's " Orlando Furioso" was so popular that sixty 
editions were sold in the sixteenth century, and it has been trans- 
lated into most of the European languages. Among English 
translations that of Rose is considered the best. Tasso's " Geru- 
salemme Liberata" took the literary world by surprise about 
A.D. 1580. Edward Fairfax translated it into English, A.D. 1600. 
Rabelais was a favorite with the chivalrous Francis I., A.D. 
1545, when he wrote the famous romance entitled " Les Faits 
et Diets du Giant Gargantua et de son Fits Pantagruel (Deeds 
and Sayings of the Giant Gargantua and his Son Pantagruel), 
of which Hallam says : 

"The most celebrated, and certainly the most brilliant performance in the 
path of fiction that belongs to this age, is that of Rabelais. Few books are 
less likely to obtain the praise of a rigorous critic ; but few have more the 
stamp of originality, or show a more redundant fertility always of language 
and sometimes of imagination." 

Coleridge observes : 

" Beyond doubt, he was among the deepest as well as boldest thinkers of 
his age, &c. ... I class Rabelais with the great creative minds — Shake- 
speare, Dante, Cervantes," &c. . . . 

Ronsard gave France odes, elegies, pastorals, and his poem 
styled " Franciade." Francis I. favored him. While page of 
James V., King of Scotland, he learned English. 

Next he traveled extensively, and studied Italian and German. 
He was versed in Greek and Latin, which he mixed so profusely 
in his writings, that they were almost unintelligible to readers. 
Portugal ever cherished Camoens' " Os Lusiadas" of which 
Madame de Stael says: 



Sixteenth Century. 35 1 

" The national glory of the Portuguese is there illustrated under all the 
forms that imagination can devise. The versification is so charming and 
stately, that even the common people know many stanzas by heart, and sing 
them with delight." 

The biography of this bard, patriot, and hero will afford a treat 
to any reader. Thus, England had her Caedmon six centuries 
before Italy had her Dante ; she had her Chaucer, Gower, Oc- 
cleve, Lydgate, and Spenser before France had Rabelais and 
Ronsard, before Portugal had Camoens, before Spain had Cer- 
vantes, and before Germany had any bard of note. 

This age witnessed progress, not only in language and litera- 
ture, but in printing. The first Greek book printed in England 
is dated 1543, and the first Hebrew book, 1592. In 1582 the 
Catholic princes adopted the Gregorian Calendar. By this 
change the confused counting of dates from the reigns of em- 
perors and kings disappeared, and chronology became more uni- 
form ; yet the Protestant rulers refused to adopt it, because sug- 
gested by the Pope. Here the Protestants must have seemed 
small, even to themselves ; for prejudice should not stand in the 
way of improvements, whether suggested by pope, czar, or sul- 
tan, especially an improvement that involved the advent of 
Christ's sublime mission and ethics. 

A fresh source of linguistic treasure was opened for the Eng- 
lish tongue by Thomas Tusser. His poem, entitled "Five Hi/n- 
dreth Points of Good Husbandrie" was to England what Theo- 
critus' "Idyls" were to Greece, 270 B.C., Varro's " De Re Rus- 
tica Libritres" to Rome, 43 B.C., and Olivier de Serres' " Theatre 
d 1 Agriculture" to France, A.D. 1600. Tusser was not only 
England's theoretic, but practical agronomic bard ; for, after 
having been at court, he retired to his farm in Essex, where he 
devoted himself to rural pursuits and improvements. He en- 
nobled tillage, domestic economy, and husbandry, not only in 
precept, but by example. The farmer, the economic husband and 
wife, and even the saving servant, all had a share in his Bucolics, 
in which the farmer could find rustic life extolled, its beauties 
enhanced, and its morals made attractive to high and low, rich 
and poor. Tusser's work must ever be considered as having fur- 
nished the richest agricultural vocabulary, which did more towards 
diffusing pure English among the yeomanry than any score of 



352 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1 200-1600. 

other books. No wonder, in the edition of 18 12, it is styled 
"The Ladder of Thrift." This simple-hearted poet died 1580. 
Our Extract and Table from this rustic poet shows the language 
and style of one of the most useful of English authors. 

Here a one word addition to language will not seem out of 
place, because the substance of that one word, from a new 
linguistic source, proved of incalculable benefit to mankind, pre- 
venting, as it did, starvation in countries that would periodically 
have suffered famine without the potato, from the Indian term 
"batatas" a native of America, introduced into Europe during 
the sixteenth century. Its first carrying to Europe has been 
claimed for Sir John- Hawkins, 1545 ; Sir Francis Drake, 1573 ; 
Sir Walter Raleigh, 1586. Whoever first carried it was a bene- 
factor. We leave the real introducer's claim in abeyance, and 
hasten to authentic mentions of the esculent tuber: The early 
botanist, Gerarde, in his Herbal, issued 1597, says that he planted 
it in his garden at London, about 1590. In the cook's market- 
ing account potatoes are mentioned at two shillings per pound, 
in the time of Anne, Queen of James I. Next the Royal So- 
ciety, 1663, urged the cultivation of this productive root as a 
means to prevent starvation. Since that date this excelling 
vegetable, eaten and liked by young and old, rich and poor, has 
extended over the globe, so that now Europe, America, and Asia 
realize its benefits as an article of food. Lately its conversion 
into flour for the baker and confectioner, into starch for the 
laundress, and into poor brandy, has enhanced its value. Botany 
styles it solatium tuberosum ; England, potato ; France, pontine 
de terre (apple of the earth) ; Germany, Erd-apfel (earth-apple). 
Now potatoes are not two shillings a pound, as in the days of 
James I., nor one-tenth of that sum • for, being easily cultivated, 
harvested, stored, cooked, and eaten without condiment, they 
are a boon and blessing to humanity ; while tobacco, another 
American plant, has been a curse ; for, wherever it extended, it 
produced national drowsiness, mental stagnation, and domestic 
poverty, whether smoked, chewed, or snuffed ; yet tobacco's 
vocabulary is more numerous than that of potato. Thus did 
every newly discovered animal, plant, mineral, metal, gas, or im- 
ponderable add its quota to language ; for we might give analo- 
gous accounts of the tomato as a vegetable, of cinchona as a 



Sixteenth Century . 353 

medicine, of wool, indigo^ India rubber as articles of clothing, 
manufacture, and mechanics, &c. . . . but we let the poor and 
rich man's vegetable, potato, stand as the prominent linguistic 
article of food next to bread. 

The Franco-Normans carried to England feudalism, with its 
attendant architecture, social institutions, and modes of life : the 
residences of feudal lords were solitary castles, constructed so as 
to be turned into fortifications at any moment : ventilation, 
health, and comfort were secondary considerations in those days 
of adventure and aggression, massive walls producing and har- 
boring dampness, small doors and windows preventing the genial 
rays of the sun from penetrating and shining upon the inmates. 
Even now the tourist, traversing England, France, and Germany, 
may behold the ruins of these feudal abodes, pitched on high 
hills, in dark forests, or amid dismal swamps. Such was the mode 
of life of feudal lords from 1100 to 1550, when adventure began 
to be considered as idleness, and aggression as a crime. As soon 
as laws were so altered that person and property became more 
sacred, the feudal lords abandoned their fortified castles, settled 
in villages, towns, and cities, and mingled more w T ith the people, 
which produced improvement in language, manners, and social 
intercourse. 

At the close of this pregnant age an accession of new words, 
hitherto little appreciated, was brought about by William Gilbert, 
physician to Queen Elizabeth, in a work entitled "De Magnete, 
Magneticisque Corporibus" &c. (On the Magnet and Magnetic 
Bodies, &c). Galileo and Erasmus eulogized Gilbert's production. 

Dr. Whewell, in his "History of the Inductive Sciences," ob- 
serves: "It contains all the fundamental facts of the science, so 
fully examined, that even at this day we have little to add to 
them." Gilbert may have conceived the idea of his book from 
the writings of Nemesius of the fifth century. This new science 
has, through Franklin, Morse, Faraday, and others, become 
Magneto-Electricity, and brought with it a linguistic stream, 
forming a dictionary of its own, which is daily increasing in vol- 
ume and branching into other sciences. Thus, with fresh dis- 
coveries and inventions, the human intellect is expanding into 
new realms of thought, expression, and language. 

To overlook the pioneer phonetist, John Hart, A.D. 1569, 
2 3 



354 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200- 1600. 

would be unpardonable. When he saw disharmony, inconsistency, 
and superfluous letters in his native tongue, he called for reform 
in the following strain : 

" Orthographie, conteyning the due order and reason howe to write or 
painte thimage of marine' s voice, moste like to the life or nature.'''' 

This title alone shows what English was three hundred years 
ago, and that there was room for improvement. As six of these 
twenty-three words : orthographie, conteyning, howe, painte, ma?i- 
ne, and moste, have since become orthography, containing, how, 
paint, man, and most, by slight changes and dropping of useless 
French final e mute, Hart's early clamoring against disharmony, 
and for writing and painting the image of man's voice has been 
a decided benefit to the English language ; for ic in the names 
of science : anaiomie, theologie, philosophic, &c. ; doctour, pro- 
fessour, neighbour, conquerour, predccessour, honour, labour, 
vigour, &c. ; are now anatomy, theology, philosophy, &c. ; doctor, 
professor, neighbor, conqueror, predecessor, honor, labor, vigor, 
&c. All must agree that dropping French final e mute from howe, 
painte, manne, moste, was an advantage ; hence why not drop 
final e mute from thousands of other English words ? Such pru- 
ning, clipping, and weeding would make English more Laconic, 
and render it more and more worthy of being the world's tele- 
graphic medium. 

It seems Sir Philip Sidney delighted in harmony and simplicity 
of language, when he penned these lines, about A.D. 1575 : 

" English is void of those cumbersome differences of cases, genders, moods, 
and tenses, which I think was a piece of the Tower of Babylon's curse, that 
a man should be put to schoole to learn his mother tongue ; but for the utter- 
ing sweetly and properly the conceit of the minde, which is the ende of speech, 
that it hath equally with any other tongue in the world." 

Here also schoole, minde, and ende appear "a la Frangaise" 
with final e mute ! 

The Newspaper has been the most powerful promoter of 
thought, ideas, correct spelling, grammatic language, and intel- 
lectual progress ; yet its origin seems obscured by hypercritic 
cobwebs, unless we trace it to " acta diurna" (diurnal acts), fur- 
nished to the Romans under their emperors. Venice claims the 



Sixteenth Century 



*y i* f 

335 



idea of the first modern newspaper, styled "Gazetta" from the 
coin that was its price, A.D. 1536. It was started to give the 
people an account of the war against the Turks. 

Behold the heading of an early Latin news-letter, dated at 
Douay, France, A.D. 1563 : 



LATIN. 

" Memorabilis * 

Et perinde stupenda de crudeli Mos- 

covitarum Expeditione narratio, e 

Germanico in Latinum conuersa. 

* * 



1563. 

DVACI. 

Ex Typographia Iacobi Boscardi, 

Typographi iurati Regies 

MaiestatisV 



ENGLISH. 

Memorable 

And likewise stupendous narrative 
concerning the cruel Expedition of 
the Moscovites, from German into 
Latin translated. 



1563. 
DOUAY. 

From the Typography of Jacob Bos- 
card, sworn Typographer of 
Ms Royal Majesty, 

Next follows a graphic account of the Moscovite or Russian 
invasion of Poland and Lithuania, of the barbarities committed 
there, and closes with an appeal to the European princes to com- 
bine and stop those ravages. As the account of the Russian in- 
vasion of Poland and Lithuania was translated from German 
into Latin, A.D. 1563, news-sheets must have been written, 
printed, and circulated in Germany prior to 1563, which would 
almost make them coeval with the Venice Gazetta, 1536. 

Behold, the following lines, printed at Rouen, and alluded to 
in Paris : 



FRENCH. 

" La Gazette en ces vers 
Contente les cervelles ; 
Car de tout l'univers 
Elle recoit nouvelles. 

Paris, jouxte la copie imprimee 
Rouen, par Jean Petit, 1609. 



ENGLISH. 

The Gazette in these verses 
Contents the brains ; 
For from all the universe 
It receives news. 

Paris, just the copy printed at Rouen, 
by John Petit, 1609. 



This jocose stanza clearly shows that news-sheets must have 
been widely disseminated in the sixteenth century. 

* From a curious pamphlet, entitled **An Early News-sheet" issued by 
Chatto & Windus, London, 1874, and J. W. Bouton, 706 Broadway, New 
York; an exact fac-simile, containing valuable notes on early news-sheets. 



356 Franco-English Period, A.D. 1200- 1600. 

It seems, in 1588, when the armada approached England, 
regular sheets were issued to inform the people of its progress ; 
specimens shown in the British Museum have been pronounced 
forgeries. The idea of journalism seems to have reached France, 
163 1, and assumed a tangible form under the name of "Gazette 
de France" which continued ever since, with but slight interrup- 
tions during the Revolution of 1792. A regular series of sheets, 
in 163 volumes, is shown from 1631 to 1792. That remarkable 
journal has ever adhered to the idea of Divine Right, which it 
advocates now. We read that the English court moved to Ox- 
ford, 1665, on account of the plague, and that a daily sheet was 
issued to transmit the status of the epidemic. This paper was 
called " Gazette," which, we are told, has appeared twice a week 
ever since as the court and government organ. It is also 
claimed that papers styled " Mercuries, Intelligencers,^ &c, were 
regularly issued during the civil wars in England. Such have 
been the claims as to the origin of newspapers, which Hudson in 
his erudite work, entitled " Journalism," considers as mere " news- 
letters and news circulars, written in Rome, Venice, Paris, Lon- 
don," &c, stating that "there are thirty volumes of these news- 
letters preserved in the Magliabecchi Library of Florence," and 
that "in the Vienna Library is a collection from 1568 to 1604." 
After thorough research he found that a paper called "Gazette" 
was printed in Nuremberg as early as 1457; that Ulric Zell 
issued the "Chronicle'' 1 at Cologne 1499; and that "Die Frank- 
furter Oberpostamts Zeitung" published 1615, was the first daily 
paper in the world. It is still published, and a monument is to 
be raised to its editor, Egenolf Eurmel, as the father of newspa- 
pers. The London "Weekely Newes" appeared in 1622. The 
learned author of "Journalism" makes allusion to the Gazette 
de France, published by Renaudot, May 30, 1831. He calls the 
first modern attempts at spreading intelligence " news-letters, 
news circulars," as though the name could make any essential 
difference. We consider them as an expansion of " Acta diurna," 
which were but written Greek dapa and Latin Fa/na, whence our 
Fame, all of which originated in, and were corollaries of, what we 
read, Genesis xlv. 16: " The fame thereof was heard at Pha- 
raoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren are come." Thus did 
ancient Fama metamorphose herself to enrich language and lit- 



Sixteenth Century. 



357 



erature, in the shape of oral tradition, " Acta diurna," Gazetta, 
and Newspapers with their varied vocabulary. 

Towards the opening of the eighteenth century almost every 
European capital and commercial center had a newspaper. Rus- 
sia had her "St. Petersburg Gazette" in whose success Peter 
the Great took a special interest, 1703. "Gaceta de Madrid" 
appeared in Spain, 1704. Even distant India saw the " Calcutta 
Gazette" in 1781. America's first newspaper was "Publick Oc- 
currences" issued in Boston by Richard Pierce, for Benjamin 
Harris, Sept. 25, 1690. It was immediately suppressed by the 
government. In T704 appeared the "Boston News-Letter] 'which 
was regularly published. Boston added another newspaper, called 
"Gazette," 1719. Philadelphia imitated Boston by issuing the 
"American Mercury" 1719. The "New York Gazette" appeared 
1725. Maryland had "Annapolis Gazette" 1727; South Caro- 
lina, "Charleston Gazette" 1737: Virginia, "Williamsburg Ga- 
zette" 1736. Thus did the communities and cities of the New 
World vie in heralds of intelligence, which they have ever since 
continued, as may be seen by these curious statistics of newspaper 
expansion, 1870 : 

Table, showing different Countries, their Populations, Newspapers, and 
Souls per Newspaper ', thus giving a general idea of the world 's reading 
capacity. 



Countries. 



United States 

Switzerland , 

Denmark 

Holland 

France , 

Sweden and Norway , 

Belgium 

Germany 

Great Britain's English-speaking 

Italy 

Spain , 

Austria 

Portugal 

Russia , 

Egypt 

Turkey , 

Africa 

Asia 

Other countries 



Population. 



38,555.983 

2,669,147 

1,784,741 

3,618,016 

36,102,821 

5,957,177 

5,387,105 

41,058,139 

51,444,017 

26.716,309 

16,641,980 

35.904,435 

5,000,000 

81,925,428 

8,000,000 

26,973,000 



Newspapers. 



5,871 

394 

96 

174 

1,668 

184 

194 

1, 276 

i,456 

723 

306 

650 

26 

337 

7 

8 

14 

30 
150 



[3,564 



Number of souls 
per newspaper. 



6,55o 
6,775 
18,580 

20,793 

21,045 

26,887 

27,748 

3 2 > I 77 

35,332 

36,953 

54,386 

55,238 

192,307 

243,102 

1,142,727 

3,371,626 



Thus in 1870 the world had 13,564 newspapers, of which 7,527 
belonged to the ninety English-speaking millions, who printed 



358 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200- 1600. 

that year 1,850,000,000 copies, which were as many teachers 
and diffusers of English spelling, grammar, and language. As 
newspapers indicate a popular desire and demand for reading, 
which is the first step towards knowledge, we rank nations in the 
above Table according to their number of souls per newspaper. 
That the two most liberal countries — United States and Switzer- 
land — surpass all other countries in the demand for daily reading 
and information, augurs well for republics ; that there is much 
more demand for reading in Christian than Mahometan coun- 
tries, augurs ill for Moslem. As the Cossack shows sixteen 
times more desire for reading than the Turk, he will prove him- 
self sixteen times superior to the Turk. Such seem to be the 
facts shown by the above statistics. No doubt, the increase of 
newspapers is a criterion of a people's thirst for daily informa- 
tion, of which reading must be the forerunner. 

As the Press has been of the people and from the people ; 
has usually been the champion of freedom, and protected the 
weak against the strong, and the innocent against the guilty, 
despotic governments and ambitious individuals have ever 
looked upon it with disfavor. Much has been said and writ- 
ten against newspapers, their blackmailing, their distortion of 
daily occurrences, their perverting truth and making falsehood 
appear plausible. Yet where there is one newspaper that 
favors such practices, there are at least nine that look upon 
them with disdain. How could it be otherwise, when we con- 
sider that all those connected with the press, from type-setters 
to reporters, editors, and proprietors, are highly intelligent 
and hard-working people ? Moreover, an institution that gives 
us at our breakfast-table what occurred yesterday in San Fran- 
cisco, London, Rome, St. Petersburg ; an institution that an- 
nounces the tempest raging a thousand miles off and approach- 
ing our shores, thus giving sailors timely notice to avoid it ; an 
institution that is Argus-eyed to detect the vicious and warn the 
good against their dark designs ; an institution that encourages 
the industrious and scores idlers ; an institution whose columns 
earn money by procuring work for chambermaids, seamstresses, 
and laborers, and spend it to assist Livingstones and Stanleys in 
distant scientific explorations, as has been done by the New 
York Herald and Daily Telegraph ; in short, a modern institution 



Sixteenth Century. 359 

that has made itself as indispensable to the mind as food to the 
body. What would, how could the world do without it ? As the 
ultimate result of our analysis shows the vocabulary and style 
of the press, we say no more on that subject. 

Physical science had a pioneer in Battista Porta, who popu- 
larized experiments in optics, made improved lenses, constructed 
a camera obscura, and wrote "Perspectiva," 1555 ; "Magics 
Naturalis" (Natural Magic), 1558; "Phytognomonica" (Knowl- 
edge of Plants), 1583 ; a Treatise on Physiognomy. 1586 ; " Vil- 
lae Libri XX." (Treatise on Agriculture), 1592, and " De Re- 
fractione Optices Parte" (On Refraction, a Part of Optics), 
1593. Here was a rich stream of scientific terms flowing into 
the European languages ; for the books of this zealous scientist 
had many editions. No doubt, our perspective, phytonomy, re- 
fraction, and numerous other scientific words, originated with 
Porta in the sense in which they have since been used. Sir 
David Brewster, speaking of the telescope, observes : " We have 
no doubt that this invaluable instrument was invented by Roger 
Bacon or Baptista Porta, in the form of an experiment ; though 
it had not perhaps, in their hands, assumed the maturity of an 
instrument made for sale, and applied to useful purposes, both 
terrestrial and celestial." Some ascribe the first telescope to 
Zacharias Jansen. 

We would hardly expect to find an alphabetic improvement as 
late as the sixteenth century, yet there was one, for about 1560, 
Pierre de la Ramee (Ramus) realized the confusion caused by 
using 1 as vowel and consonant in words like ialousie, iustice, &c. 
Also the confusion caused by using u as vowel and consonant 
in words like ualour, uengeance, uertue* &c. Consequently he 
substituted j for i, wherever i was to be pronounced like an as 
pirate, as in jalousie, justice, &c. He also replaced u by v, 
wherever u was to be uttered like a labial, as in valeur, vengeance, 
vertu, &c. J and v were called " Ramist consonants." Although 
this distinction between i and /, u and v was a decided improve 
ment, Pierre de la Ramee did not live to see it adopted ; for the 

* Even in the first edition of Shakespeare's works, 1623, we find ialousie, 
iustice, iuiurie, ioy?U, &c. ; ualour, uengeance, tiertue, heauen, euery, Sec. ; 
now jealoicsy, justice, injury, joint, &c. ; valor, vengeance, virtue, heaven^ 
every, &c. 



360 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200- 1600. 

liberal savant was butchered during the Massacre of St. Barthol- 
omew, 1572. A publisher, named Gilles Beys, first used/ and v 
in " Commentaire de Mignaitlt sur les Epitres d' Horace" Paris, 
1584. Next Louis Elzevir, a progressive Dutch publisher, used 
the Ramist consonants in his publications about 1650. It is to 
be hoped in this nineteenth century will arise a savant and pub- 
lishers, who can appreciate the long-felt need of writing and 
printing English as it is pronounced. 

We read that the Greeks gradually added letters to the ancient 
Cadmean sixteen letter alphabet, and accents to the letters, as 
they felt the want thereof; and that about 240 B.C. the gram- 
marian Carvilius added g to the Roman alphabet, probably to 
supply the want of a mild guttural ? So the Jews introduced 
vowel points, the French accents, dieresis, cedilla, and the Ger- 
mans umlaut. Hence alphabetic, diagraphic, and phonetic 
changes and additions to harmonize letter and sound are no 
novelty, and the English-speaking populations risk nothing, and 
will not be called radical in imitating their illustrious Hebrew, 
Greek, Roman, French, and German predecessors. 

Dryden died in May, 1700, after his varied muse had worthily 
enlivened the sixteenth century. Lord Brougham calls his prose 
" matchless, rich, various, natural, animated, pointed." Macaulay 
styles him "an incomparable reasoner in verse." His "Ode on 
Saint Cecilia's Day" has been pronounced a masterpiece. He 
also enriched English with the classic lore of the ancients ; for 
Pope says: "His translation of Virgil is the most noble and 
spirited translation I know in any language." Such versatility in 
prose, poetry, and criticism, made Dryden the master-mind of 
his day, and entitled him to the honorable post of poet-laureate, 
which he deservedly obtained. 

In this age of reviving progress, the science of the Shepherd 
Kings and Magi came in vogue, and towers somewhat similar to 
those of Babel and Osymandias were raised to contemplate the 
heavens ; but instead of being called after kings, they were simply 
styled observatory from Latin observatum (to observe). Ger- 
many, imitating the ancients, erected the first astronomic ob- 
servatory at Cassel, 1561. In 1577 Denmark rivaled Germany: 
her liberal king, Frederick II., reared in the Isle of Huen a 
magnificent observatory, which he named Ura?iiburg (Castle of 



Sixteenth Century. 361 

the Heavens), and gave it as a grant for life to Tycho Brahe, who 
at the age of seventeen discovered an astronomic error in the 
"Alphonsin Tables." Soon the Danish star-gazer won the title, 
"Restorer of Astronomy" for he catalogued 777 stars and ascer- 
tained the true theory of comets. Sir David Brewster epitomizes 
Tycho Brahe's discoveries thus : 

" As a practical astronomer, Tycho has not been surpassed by any observer 
of ancient or modern times. The splendor and number of his instruments, 
the ingenuity which he exhibited in inventing new ones, and his skill and 
assiduity as an observer, have given a character to his labors and a value to 
his observations, which will be appreciated to the latest posterity. His im- 
provements in the lunar theory were still more valuable. He discovered the 
important inequality called the variation, and also the annual inequality, 
which depends on the position of the Earth in its orbit." 

This pioneer scientist died 1601, leaving a worthy pupil in 
Kepler. 

Extracts and Tables from six authors and writings of the six- 
teenth century, showing their style and the origin of their vocab- 
ulary. 

[By these Extracts readers may realize that the language of this age differs little in spelling 
and grammar from English of 1878.] 



362 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200- 1600. 



Extract from the English Prayer-Book (1548), from Cranmer, 
Peter Martyr, Bernard Ochin, and Melancthon : 

"Almighty and most merciful Father ! We have erred and strayed from 
thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires 
of our own hearts. We have offended against Thy holy laws. We have left 
undone those things, which we ought to have done ; and we have done those 
things, which we ought not to have done ; and there is no health in us. But 
Thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us miserable offenders. Spare Thou them, 
O God, which confess their faults. Restore Thou them, that are penitent ; 
according to Thy promises, declared unto mankind in Christ Jesu, our Lord. 
And grant, O most merciful Father for Flis sake ; That we may hereafter 
live a Godly, righteous, and sober life," &c. 

" Wilt thou have this woman to be thy wedded wife, to live together after 
God's ordinance, in the holy state of matrimony ? Wilt thou love her, com- 
fort her, honour, and kee-p her in sickness and in health ; and, forsaking all 
others, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live ? " 

"Dearly beloved, know this, that Almighty God is the Lord of life and 
death, and of all things to them pertaining, as youth, strength, age, weakness, 
and sickness. Wherefore, whatsoever your sickness is, know you certainly 
that it is God's visitation. And for what cause soever this sickness is sent 
unto you; whether it be to try your patience for the example of others," &c. 



240 


common words, among which 








The occurs 


3 


times. 


have, 


aux. 


occun 


7 


times. 


a " 


1 


" 


shall, 


<< 


it 


1 


" 


of 


2 


«< 


will, 


" 


" 


2 


<( 


to " 
from " 


7 

1 




may, 
do, 


<< 


tt 
tt 


1 



n 
n 


in *' 


5 


tt 


that 




a 


4 


it 


with " 





tt 


and 




n 


12 


it 


by 





<« 








— 




Pro. of 1 st person " 
" 2d " 


12 
15 


«< 




other 


»5 

particles, 36 




u 3d u tt 
be, aux. " 


11 

1 


tt 








121 particles. 



Hence, the style of this early prayer-book required about 240 common 
words to furnish 100 different words, and averaged about fifty-one per cent. 
particles and fifty-eight per cent, repetitions. 



Sixteenth Century. 



363 



"8 



■s 

GO 

in 






£3 



Jl 



s 
8 

.8 
5s. 



SO; 

% 



It 



4i B 



i.2 s 5t3 



.<0> 



o o 



00 



« 6 a SJ s 






^ux >- &£|^ bus: a ~ % ■£ . -5 ' 



S'o. 



a « s* o 



E E ^ 



v. 3 T3 

■■0 ts a u «< £S ^^o 



awx: e 3 £ 

" i o "iw 5 S.S 



'>. 



'5 s 



1 


certainly 
visitation 
cause, n. 
patience 
example 


tM 


merciful 

erred 

devices 

desires, n. 

laws 

miserable 

confess 

faults 

restore 

penitent 

according 

promises 

declared 

grant, v. 

sober 
ordinance 
comfort, v. 
honour, v. 
pertaining 
age 


La t if 1 : 

offended 

State 
matrimony 

3 


1 


u 


H 





1 \ 



364 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1 200-1600. 



Extract from Tusser's "Five Hundreth Good Pointes of Husband- 
ries 1580. 

"THE LADDER TO THRIFT." L.E., l8l2, p. l8. 

" To take thy calling thankfully, 
And shun the path to beggary. 

To grudge in youth no drudgery, 
To come by knowledge perfectly. 

To count no travell slavery, 
That brings in penny saverly. 

To follow profit, earnestly, 
But meddle not with pilfery. 

To get by honest practisy. 
And keep thy gettings covertly. 

To lash not out, too lashingly, 
For fear of pinching penury. 

To get good plot, to occupy. 
And store and use it, husbandly. 

To shew to landlord courtesy, 
And keep the covenants orderly. 

To hold that thine is lawfully, 
For stoutness, or for flattery. 

To wed good wife for company, 
And live in wedlock honestly. 

To furnish house with housholdry, 
And make provision skilfully. 

To join to wife good family, 
And none to keep for bravery. 

To suffer none live idely, 
For fear of idle knavery. 

To courage wife in huswifery, 
And use well doers gentily. 

To keep no more but needfully, 
And count excess unsavoury. 

To raise betimes the lubberly, 
Both snorting Hob and Margery. 

To walk thy pastures usually, 
To spy ill neighbour's subtilty." 

177 common words, among which 



The 




occurs 


2 


times. 


Pron. 2d pers. 


occurs 5 


times. 


that occurs 2 times. 


of 




" 


3 




t " 3d " 


" 1 


" 


and " 10 " 


to 




" 


24 




be, aux. 


" 


" 


— 


from 




" 







have, aux. 


11 


" 


54 


in 




" 


4 




shall, " 


" 


" 


other particles, 18 


with 




" 


2 




will, " 


" 


" 


— 


by 




" 


2 




may, " 


•' 


" 


72 particles. 


Pro. 


1st 


pers. " 







do, 


" 


" 





Hence, Tusser's style required about 177 common words to furnish 100 different words, and 
averaged about forty-one per cent, particles and forty per cent, repetitions. 



Sixteenth Centtiry. 



365 



•&. 



\\ 

^ 8 






§ S 






6 



m 



<^ 



-i 



Mi- -a 
■ tlilll 



6 o J 

ecu 



E-s" 






^ 



e « s •" " d 






1 O •-• „l«. o 



!§<s**-|«8gsj 



1 

"*1 


pastures, n. 
usually 
spy, v. 
sublilty 












lawfully 
flattery 

company 
furnish 

provision 
join 


fimily 
bravery 
suffer 
courage, v. 
gentily 
excess 




count, v. 
travel!, n. 

saverly 

profit, n. 

pilfery 

honest 


practisy 

covertly 
pinching 
plot, n. 
occupy 
use, v. 


v 01 73 

80S 




1 


■C 
« 
^ 






.- 1. rt 

'rt Cu 7 ' 
Q 


ro 





15, 00 _aj 'S 

3 -1 



V 






5 Sf 0.6 



si** s.s 

t- C X rt -o 

I WIS is'o 



c 

*"5 






■« 5 



-3 ?>B 



■ — .S o- -, 

x u ^ 2 * • - 

Its "S « c£> w 

« c rt u o 



*"* o'E 



■sss 



i.o 



n^tL"* "Si 

C ■" n! rt 



2 " ■ 

ITS' 






.Ew 

2 o 



■§2***3 §21 

u* w >^ p. ■" • - m « 

co £ t- ?: a i — -3 rt 



y c^- 



a:ss 

<* " 



5 r- *** «* " 



3 S C - r- - 13 rt =; 

>>|^| lis 4^ 

■Sw"^^ g K ■$ .*- „o 



2 3 S « 

>- nsi "t! 



;^l 



l|l^ 



00.3 g c" " 5 -5,^ 
f X i ~ S - ^ L J 5 






... 3 



c5 Lo C S C S -" S 

.2 d" c « J! ? 8 «' - 






"o: t^ rt *- 

•50^ = 



8&.s a«g ^.r-s 

' .« ° O 
■ -^o.SO 

T^.I.E 






" ? ^ V 



•S.Sx ? 



.3 b 



* s jj g rt -f X 



! Z *VS 



,§-a u o g rt 

« is -5 SH E. 



366 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200- 1600. 

Extracts from John Nor den's {t 'Historical and Chorographical" 
Descriptions of Cornwall a?id Essex about 1594. 

Cornwall (1584). 
" Of late the Cornish men have mnche conformed themselves to the use of 
the Englishe tounge, and their Englishe is equall to the. beste, especially in 
the easterne partes; even from Truro easwarde it is in manner wholly Eng- 
lishe. In the weste parte of the countrye, as in the hundreds of Penwith and 
Kerrier, the Cornishe tounge is moste in use amongste the inhabitantes, and 
yet (whiche is to be marveyled), though the husband and wife, parentes and 
children, master and servantes, doe mutually communicate in their native lan- 
guage, yet ther is none of them in manner but is able to convers with a 
straunger in the Englishe tounge, unless it be some obscure people, that sel- 
dome conferr with the better sorte : But it seemeth that in few yeares the 
Cornishe language will be by litle and litle abandoned." * 

ESSEX (1594). 

" There are in this shire some especiall groundes noted generallie, in re- 
garde of their fertilletie, by this comon Rime or Prouerbe, &c. : 

" About the town of Walden groweth great store of saffron, whose nature, 
in yelding her fruite, is verie straunge, and bindeth the laborer to greate 
trauaile and dilligence ; and yet at length yealdeth no small aduantage to 
recomforte him agayne." 



[91 common words, among which 



The 




occurs 


16 


times. 


a 






(C 


I 


a 


of 






tt 


7 


tt 


to 






(( 


4 


" 


from 






cc 


1 


tt 


in 






tt 


12 


tt 


with 






tt 


2 


tt 


by 






tt 


2 


tt 


Pron. 


fist 


per. 


a 





it 


(< 


2d 


(< 


tt 





tt 


k 


3d 


u 


tt 


10 


it 


be, aux. 






tt 


3 


a 



have, 


aux. 


occurs 


I 


shall, 


cc 


tt 





will, 


u 


tt 


I 


may, 


u 


tt 





do, 


u 


tt 


I 


that, 




tt 


I 


and 




tt 


8 
70 




other 


particles, 


29 



times. 



99 particles. 



Hence, Norden's style required about 191 common words to furnish 100 
different words, and averaged about fifty-two per cent, particles and forty-eight 
per cent, repetitions. 



* This soon happened, for Dorothea Pentreath, who died 1778, was the 
last person who could speak Cornish. 



Sixteenth Century. 



367 



Is 






•8 


<! 


V 


|3 


€ 




si 


5 


ft 


fe 


V 


O 




W 




Oi 


<3 


> 


5s. 


H 






■3 




s 


M 


H* 


Ph 




< 






*. 


O 






■3 



<5 






p < 



gg 

< p 



*3 

w < 
o 



*U1N(t H 



Jh<;oi<! 









I « E S > 
1 rt o c > 






LtlR'SP^.ii'rta— «S 



c ~ 



2 i2 " u3p,S" 



a S 3 



SB B J 











a c5 












a rt c u 






Erlo 3 u 


* 


Cd rt 5 > 

•c 2 






c 










•<e 












£ 




G 







^ 



368 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200- 1600. 



Extract from Richard Mideast er's "Elementarie" p.167, A.D. 

1582. 

A standard educational book in the time of Elizabeth. 

" I take this present period of our English tung to be the verie height thereof, 
bycause I find it so excellently well fined both for the bodie of the tung itself, 
and for the customarie writing thereof, as either foren workmanship can give 
it glosse, or as home-wrought hanling can give it grace. When the age of 
our people, which now vse the tung, will alter and change; which change in 
the full harvest thereof maie prove comparable to this; but, sure for this, 
which we now vse, it seemeth euen now to be at the best for substance, and 
the brauest for circumstance, and whatsoever shall become of the English state, 
the English tung cannot prove fairer than it is at this daie, if it maie please 
our learned sort so to esteme of it, and to bestow their trauell upon such a 
subject." First Part, p. 159. 

"For easie obtaining isenemie to iudgement, not onlie in words and natural 
speche, but in greater matters and verie important. Aduised and considerat 
dimming by, as it proves by those tungs, which we learn by art, where time 
and trauell be the compassing means emplanteth in wits both certaintie to rest 
on, and assurance to rise by our natural tung cummeth on vs by hudle, and 
therefor hedelesse, foren language is labored, and therefore learned, the one 
still in vse and neuer well known, the other well known and verie seldom 
vsed. And yet continewal vse should enfer knowledge in a thing of such vse, 
as the naturall deliurie of our mind and meaning is. And to saie the truth 
what reason it is, to be acquainted abrode and a stranger at home ? to know 
foren tungs by rule, and our own by rote. If all other men had been so 
affected to make much of the foren, and set light by their own, as we seem to 
do, we had neuer had these things, which we like of so much, we should neuer 
by comparing have diserned the better." 

190 common words, among which 



The 




occurs 


II 


times. 


have, 


aux. 


occurs 


times. 


a 






<< 


5 


" 


shall, 


i( 


tt 


1 " 


of 






<( 


1 


tt 


will, 


(c 


tt 


1 " 


to 






<< 


6 


c< 


may, 


u 


tt 


2 " 


from 






<< 





" 


do, 


Cl 


<< 


" 


in 






(< 


3 


" 


that 




tt 


" 


with 
by 






«< 
<< 



2 




and 




tt 


8 " 


Pron. 

u 


fist 
2d 


per. 

it 


tt 

tt 


7 



tt 




other 


particles, 


56 

45 


be, aux. 


3d 


" 


It 
it 


9 



tt 
tt 


• 






101 particles 



Hence, Mulcaster's style requires about 190 common words to furnish 100 
different words, and averages about fifty-three per cent, particles and forty 
seven per cent, repetitions. 



Sixteenth Century. 



369 



*q 



•^ 




k 




"3 




►5* 




Vj 




c< 




$ 


O 


<i 


< 


*. 


O 


> 


£ 


<s 


< 


V 


H-l 






H 




^ 


O 


*V) 




5? 


w 


1? 


ph 

> 


^ 


H 


k 




■s 


U 


.» 






H 


5: 


PL, 




<s 


s 


►7* 


<•> 


U 


^J 




k 


P4 


s> 


«! 



* 






c/:> 



< 3 



e E 



►j 9 

6 o 



OOCJ 



$ -a 3 cjj c w q 

t. rt " c « o o 



V 



<" X „, — 

15 «R.S « 5a :- x ft rt § 1: o <u 






3 -5 

rt « u fl ^ •" 

.r o I a 1 s 



II o§ s^iin^-i, 



hi] u 

.s ~ 



"5 > £■" 

? 00 rt "S 

3 I s 





esteme 

traucll 

easie 

obtaining 

enemie 

iudgcment 

naturall 

matters 

important 

aduiscd 

art 

time 

compassing" 

means, n. 

emplanteth 




present, adj. 

period 

bycause 

excellently 

fined 
customane 

foren 

grace, n. 

age 

people 

vse 

change, v. 

prove 
comparable 

sure 

substance 

brauest 

circumstance 

please 

sort, 11. 


(J 


verie 

alter 

state, n. 

subject, n. 

considerat 


m 


12 

1 


O 

"bo 


H 







370 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200-1600. 

Extract from "The Replication of the most Rev. Father in God, 
Joh?i Archbishop of Yeorke, Complainant, to the Demurrer and 
answer of Thomas Robinson, Defendant" dated A.D. 1591. 

Thomas Hearne's Works, 1810, vol. iv., p. 416. 
" The said Complainant averreth his said Bill of Complamte, and every mat- 
ter and thinge therm contayned, to be juste and true, in such manner and 
forme as in the said Bill of Complaynt is playnly set forth and declared. And 
further saith, that the said Demurrer and Answer of the Defendant is very 
uncertayne, untrue and insufficient in the Law to be replyed unto, for divers, 
very manifest, and apparent matters and causes therein contayned; the ad- 
vantage of the insufficiencye whereof unto this Repliant at all tymes hereafter 
sacred, for further Replication thereunto, this Complainant saith, in all and 
every Matter, Article and Thinge, as he before, in his said Bill of Complaint, 
hath playnly and truly set forth and declared. And further saith, that, for as 
much as the said Defendant, by his said Answer, without any color of cause, 
pretendeth, that this Complaynant, beynge priviledged in thexchequer, as the 
Collector of the annuall Tenths and Subsydies, havinge, in this Court a place 
of accompte, as well for that Collection of the Subsydie and Benevolence hath 
not Priviledge to maintayne Suit in this Court ; and for that also, that the 
said Defendant, by untrue Surmises of a Concealment, hath obtayned in Fee 
■ — Farme a Hospitall, not dissolved nor dissolvable, nor yet concealed, for a 
yearly Rent, aunswerable in this Courte; therefore this Complanant is only 
to seeke his Remedy in this honorable Court, and not elsewhere. And for 
that if this Repliant by Judiciall Decree hath had Redresse in the same Court, 
against such pretended Purchasses of supposed Concealments of this Complain- 
ant's See and Archbishopricke ; and for as much as the sayd Defendant, by 
his said Answer, confesseth the same to have beene a Hospitall, which," &c. * 
289 common words, among which 

The occurs 14 times. 

a 5 " 

of " 10 " 

to " 5 " 

from " o " 

in " 12 " 

with " o " 

by « 3 " 

Pron. of 1st pers. " o " 

" 2d " " o " 

« 3d « " 5 " 

be, aux. " 4 " 

Hence, the legal style in the sixteenth century required about 289 com- 
mon words to furnish 100 different words, and averaged about fifty-one per 
cent, particles and sixty-five per cent, repetitions. 

* As we quoted the first regular deed, written in England about the begin- 
ning of the seventh century, lawyers may compare and realize how the legal 
style progressed within nine hundred years. 



have, 


aux. 


occurs 


4 


times. 


shall, 


<( 


n 





<< 


will, 


cc 


<< 





ci 


may, 
do, 


(C 

a 


<< 

<« 


O 



«< 


that 




tt 


7 


(i 


and 




c« 


21 


" 




other 


particles 


90 

53 










1 48 particles. 



Sixteenth Century. 



371 



& 



§ 




« 




s 




e 




V 


m 


v^ 


W 


* 





fc. 


< 


$ 


P 


N 




tyi 


< 


.8 


1-4 





> 




H 


$ 


O 


*» 


13 


•* 


s 


1 


<! 




»-» 




O 

2 


s 


< 


vi 


















V 




.8 




.$ 




fc. 




O 





is 



IO OlN « H 





• - £ 


■«- -1- 





^O 






C 




6 c j 








"72 G " 






"rC . rtj~ 






atin 
renc 

erm 

cote 




8- „ 


,_5{n«;Cw 




L, 



I ^ 



1 


2 >> 


- 




.1 C l 


- 


at 

all 

hereafter 

before 

hath 

much 

without 

any 

tenths 

a 

well 

also 

fee 

not 

yearly 

only 

seeke 

elswhere 

if 

same 




and 

every 

thinge 

therin 

to 

be 

true 

in 

of 

set 

forth 

further 

that 
answer 

for 

wherof 

this 



-a 



3 * 

.£ 

& 



<0 


rent, n. 

remedy, n. 

honorable 

iudiciall 

decree 

redresse, n. 

purchasses 

supposed 

confesseth 






tymcs 

sacred 

article 

prctendeth 

priviledged 

exchequer 

annuall 
subsydies 

Court 
place, n. 
accompte 
collection 
benevolence 
maintnyne 

suit 

surmises, n. 

concealment 

obtayned 

farme 
hospitall 




Complainant 

averreth 

bill 

matter 

contayned 

juste 

manner 

forme, n. 

plainly 

declared 

demurrer 

defendant 

unccrtayne 

law 

replyed 

divers 

manifest 

apparent 

causes, n. 

advantage 




-1 


> 


insulhcient 
color,* n. 
dissolved 
collector* 
Archbishopricke 


*o 



5 ° 

< -s 






S H 



<0 *s \t 






o Si 



£ * 



372 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200-1600. 

Extract from Spenser's "Faerie Queene" ii., c. 3, A.D. 1596. 

" Her face so faire, as flesh it seemed not, 
But hevenly pourtraict of bright angels how, 
Cleare as the skye, withouten blame or blot, 
Through goodly mixture of complexions dew ; 
And in her cheekes the vermeill red did shew, 
Like roses in a bed of lillies shed. 
The which ambrosiall odours from them threw, 
And gazers sence with double pleasure fed, 
Hable to heale the sicke and to revive the ded. 

In her faire eyes two living lamps did flame, 
Kindled above at th' Hevenly Makers light, 
And darted fyrie beames out of the same, 
So passing persant, and so wondrous bright, 
That quite bereav'd the rash beholders sight : 
In them the blinded god his lustfull fyre 
To kindle oft assayd, but had no might ; 
For, with dredd maiestie and awlull yre, 
She broke his wanton darts, and quenched bace desyre, 

Her yvorie forhead, full of bountie brave," &c. 

147 common words, among which 
The occurs 8 times. 



a 




tt 


I 


of 
to 
from 




tt 

<t 
tt 


5 
3 
i 


in 
with 




a 
tt 


4 
3 


by 

Pron. of i st 


per. 


it 


o 
o 


" 2d 


If 


a 


o 


" 3d 
be, aux. 


u 


it 
a 


9 
o 


have, 4 ' 




" 


o 


shall, " 




tt 


o 


will, " 




i i 


o 


may, " 




t c. 


o 


do, " 




a 


2 


that 




a 


I 


and 




a 


7 




othe 


r particles, 


44 
19 



63 particles. 
Hence, Spenser's style requires 147 common words to furnish 100 different 
words, and averages about forty-three per cent, particles and thirty-three per 
cent, repetitions. 



Sixteenth Century. 



373 






* 






<;rH 



OS 



q 8 



^ I 






6l 

H fa. 



I 2 












o SPJJ £ b g « «f g 






,<o „ 




£ o 






T3 JJ 






«s-a 


^ 














£ J3 






v rt 
* u 












s a 

Q>2 






> ° 




o 








« o 




00 


i is 





M& 



3 £ 



« u ; S o J; 



-^2 



5 = 3 



. u 



. c 



a s 



S2 u 

* % v 3^— S.S: 



E s " g g-g 



<s i 



a«ci 
a >. 



p 


o es 


< 


>- in 


CJ 


-£ w 




o_u 




. u 


0) 


u a. 




«"S 




ce 




C 3 


u, 


^s 






r^ 


.SM 


00 








~-~ 


T3 (/1 - 


& 


3*s 






i) 


** 


« 


nj « 


u 


cn-£ 


<a 


6 o 






H 


fc ^ 


i J 


< 8 










s 


5 a 




U u 


•a 


5 bfl 




Q. <D 


:S 




8 


o.s 




£•■£ 




-P/o 






c 


5 rt 


u 


13 r-~ 






£ 






^yi 
















3 C 


17 


H< 


1 






« H 


H 


4= ° 


O 


* a 


£ 



374 Franco- English Period \ A.D. 1 200-1600. 



Synopsis of the differe?it words from the six Tables of the 
Sixteenth Century. 



Greek : 


4 


) 


> 


Latin : 


20 V Greco-Latin : 


208 


French : 


184 






Anglo-Saxon : 


211^ 


* 




Gothic : 


3 






Danish : 


2 






German : 


5 


y Gotho-Germanic : 


224 


Swedish : 


1 






Dutch : 


1 






Icelandic : 


1 






Welsh : 


4] 






Scotch : 
Irish : 


2I 
1 | 


- Celtic : 


8 


Armoric : 


1, 




Hebrew : 


M 


Semitic : 


1 



Total of the differ- 
ent words : 431. 



Hence, the Franco-English style in the sixteenth 
century shows a vocabulary of different words, con- 
taining about 
50 per cent. Gotho-Germanic, including 47 per 

cent. Anglo-Saxon ; 
48 " Greco-Latin, including 43 per cent. 

French. 
2 " Celtic, and traces of Semitic. 

Not one of the 211 different Anglo-Saxon words 
is now obsolete. 

Not one of the 184 different French words is now 
obsolete. 

One hundred and thirty of the 211 different 
Anglo-Saxon words, or about fifty-eight per cent., 
are now spelt as they were in the sixteenth century. 

One hundred and thirty-two of the 184 Greco- 
Latin words, or about seventy-one per cent., are 
now spelt as they were in the sixteenth century. 



Sixteenth Century. 



375 



Ultimate Numerical Result of the Origin of the Vo- 
cabulary of the Franco-English Period, A.D. i 200-1600. 

Each of the four synopses of this Period shows 
the origin of the Franco-English vocabulary for one 
century ; to reach the origin of the whole Franco- 
English vocabulary, we must drop all repetitions 
from the twenty-two Tables of the Franco-English 
Period, so as to arrive at the number of ultimate dif- 
ferent words. 



ORIGIN OF THE FRANCO-ENGLISH VOCABULARY: 



Anglo-Saxon 


533 ' 


> 


Gothic : 


2 




Danish : 


4 




German : 


14 


y Gotho-Gennanic words : 557 


Dutch : 


2 




Swedish : 


1 




Icelandic : 


1 




Greek : 


5' 




Latin : 
French : 


47 
464 


<■ Greco-Latin words : 518 


Italian : 


2 




Welsh : 


6< 




Irish : 
Scotch : 


2 


> Celtic words : 11 


Armoric : 




Hebrew : 


* 


Semitic words : 2 ^ 



Total of the 

ultimate dif- 

> ferent words: 



Hence, the Franco-English vocabulary counts 
51 per cent. Gotho-Germanic, including 49 per 

cent. Anglo-Saxon ; 
47 " Greco- Latin, including 43 per cent. 

French ; * 
1 " Celtic, and 

Traces of Semitic, which came through the Bible. 



* As French rose to forty-three per cent, in England's language from A.D. 
1200 to 1600. it must be conceded that Fra.7ico-English (noi '■'■Early Eng- 
lish") is the most appropriate qualificative for this period. 



376 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1 200-1600. 

For later comparison, we desire readers to remember : 

1. That 487 (forty-five per cent.) of the above 1,088 ultimate 
different words are now (1878) spelt as they were prior to A.D. 
1600; whereas the Anglo-Saxon vocabulary of A.D. 1200 shows 
but nine per cent, of its words spelt as they were before A.D. 1200. 

2. That only 67 (twelve per cent.) of the above 533 ultimate dif- 
ferent Anglo-Saxon words of the Franco-English Period are now 
obsolete; whereas the Anglo-Saxon vocabulary of A.D. 1200 
shows fifty-four per cent, obsolete words. Yet Sharon Turner 
and his followers (without ever having made a close analysis) in- 
sinuate that only about five per cent, of the Anglo-Saxon dialect 
is obsolete, and that they have been replaced by Latin and 
French. Thus are the ninety English-speaking millions kept in 
darkness as to the origin of their language. 

Synopsis of the Numeric Result of the twenty-two Extracts from Authors of 
the Franco-English Period, showing the style of writing from A.D. 
1200 to 1600. 



AUTHORS AND WRITINGS. 

Layamon's, 13th Century 

Lord's Prayer, Creed, &c, 13th 

Robert Gloucester, 13th 

Robert Manning, 14th 

Adam Davie, 14th 

Robert Langland, 34th 

Mandeville, 14th 

Gower, 14th 

Chaucer, 14th 

Prayers, 14th 

Bishop Peacock, 15th 

Ly dgate, 15th 

Occleve, 15th 

Caxton, 15th 

Wynkin de Worde, 15th 

Fabian, 15th 

Prayers, 16th 

Tusser, 16th 

Norden, 16th 

Mulcaster, 16th 

Law Paper, 16th 

Spenser, 16th 



NUMBER OF WORDS WORDS OF IN 




IN EACH EXTRACT. HEKENT MEANING. * 


233 including 123 


no (47 per cent.) 


198 " 106 


92 (46 •' ) 


267 " 126 


*4* (53 " ) 


195 l ' 94 


101 (50 " ) 


«2 3 " 133 


90 (40 " ) 


173 89 


84 (49 " ) 


268 " 127 


141 (52 " ) 


210 " 97 


113 (54 " ) 


229 93 


136 (.0 " ) 


202 " H2 


90 (45 " ) 


193 90 


103 (53 " ) 


202 " 98 


104 (51 " ) 


191 94 


97 (50 " ) 


241 " 106 


135 (57 " ) 


244 " 121 


123 (50 ** ) 


220 102 


n8 (54 '* ) 


240 119 


121 (51 " ) 


177 105 


72 (41 " ) 


191 92 


99 (52 " ) 


190 89 


101 (53 " ) 


289 " 141 


148 (51 " ) 


147 84 


63 (43 " ) 



2,341 



2,382 



For comparison in the English Period, readers will please re- 
member : 

1. That the twenty-two Extracts from the prominent Franco- 



Sixteenth Century. S77 

English authors and writings aggregate 4,723 words, averaging 
215 words for each of the twenty-two Extracts; whereas the Ex- 
tracts of the Anglo-Saxon Period average 242 words per Extract. 

2. That the twenty-two Extracts, numbering 4,723 words, con- 
tain but 1,088 (twenty-three per cent.) ultimate different words, 
leaving 3,635 (seventy-seven per cent.) ultimate repetitions ; 
whereas the Extracts of the Anglo-Saxon Period contain twenty- 
two per cent, ultimate repetitions. 

Such we find the origin of the vocabulary and the style of the 
best authors and writings of the Franco-English Period. Anglo- 
Saxon words were altered, dropped, and replaced by Greco- 
Latin to the amount of forty-seven per cent. As the best 
authors and writings of the Anglo-Saxon Period, from A.D. 597 
to 1200, show but eight per cent. Greco-Latin, it becomes evi- 
dent that England's national language gained forty per cent. 
Greco-Latin from A.D. 1200 to 1600, and that nine-tenths of 
this gain came through the French. 

We realize by this strict numeric analysis, that the Franco- 
English Period averages 215 words for each Extract; whereas 
the Anglo-Saxon Period averages 242. Again, the Franco-Eng- 
lish Period numbers 25 repeated words less per Extract than the 
Anglo-Saxon, and shows an increase of one per cent, ultimate 
different words. True, the Anglo-Saxon Period averages 7 par- 
ticles less per Extract than the Franco-English, which is due to 
the more frequent use of the particles of to, from, &c, that re- 
placed the Anglo-Saxon inflections in the declension of nouns and 
adjectives. On this score the learned Grimm tells us that mod- 
ern English gained in spiritual maturity what it may have lost in 
Anglo-Saxon inflections. Hence, England's language improved 
in conciseness by dropping 27 words for every Extract; in force 
by decreasing repetitions of words and adding one per cent, ulti- 
mate different words ; in clearness and precision by substituting 
invariable monosyllabic particles for complicated inflections. 

We cannot help mentioning here the first public library of 
printed books in England. Hitherto knowledge had been con- 
fined to obscure and musty manuscripts, kept in monasteries and 
royal palaces, which were inaccessible to ordinary readers and the 
laboring classes. Anyhow manuscripts, unless written in a very 
clear, lucid style, and well preserved, are poor conveyers of in- 



378 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200- 1600. 

formation even to scholars, to say nothing of novices. A printed 
book is an easier and safer teacher than the finest manuscript. 
We read that during Medieval times even bishops died without 
having seen a fully written or printed Bible ; because manuscripts 
and printed books were so rare and costly. Towards the close 
of this century England had a statesman, who, while ambassador 
to France, had occasion to discover the machinations of the 
Jesuits ; that statesman was Francis Walsingham, who narrowly 
escaped being murdered during the " Massacre of St. Bartholo- 
mew." He had watched the persecutions of the Huguenots 
and had realized that, to dissipate superstition and ignorance, 
general information must be made free and accessible, not only 
to students and scholars, but to the masses. Hence, as soon as 
he was made Prime Minister by Queen Elizabeth, he used his 
influence and means to found the Royal Library at Cambridge, a 
center, whence knowledge soon radiated over the British Isles. 
Caxton had printed many popular books before his death ; and 
Wynkin de Worde had issued Trevisa's translation of Higden's 
" Polychronicon " (Universal History) and other works, which, 
being in the vernacular tongue, were well calculated for a printed 
pioneer library. England and the world must ever feel grateful 
to Francis Walsingham for an educational institution, open to all 
who desired and sought information. Yet we find this event, so 
beneficent to popular education, unnoticed by English publicists, 
and only casually thus mentioned in "Biographic Portative Uni- 
verselle," P. Ed. 1852 : 

"On doit a Walsingham la fondation de la bibliotheque du roi a Cam- 
bridge." 

We owe to Walsingham the foundation of the King's library at Cambridge. 

It is said this champion of general education died so poor, 
1590, that his private library had to be sold to pay his fitneral 
expenses. To him, surely, honest politicians may point with pride. 

After showing numeric improvements as to the origin of words 
and style of writing, it might be interesting to show how the 
Anglo-Saxons and Franco-Normans prepared their dialects by 
dropping affixes and suffixes to form English. As Tables exhibit 
such changes more clearly than any other way, we beg readers to 
glance at the following Tables of Anglo-Saxon and French verbs : 



Sixteenth Century. 



379 





s* « 




<2 >» 




r ^t 




^ t 




^ l 




8 S 




5 * 
£ ■* 




1 «? 








•5 S 




^ L >» 




« S 




^ 




§ i I 








^•5 Si 




* S 3 


r/j 


",» « «0 


> 
i— i 

H 


transit 
Saxon 
ible En 


i— i 


^ A V 


55 


"1^ 




1^1 


O 


* 3 t 

§0 « <* 


X 


53 -^ <» 




>> \i £» 




k k hq 


O 


5» ^ ^ 


o 


^ * 
^ * 


£ 


< 




o 


^ Q 53 

^ g fc 




O k «•> 


w 


^ ? ^ 


1-1 

N 


ian, an 
are one 

axon ve 




= ^ °? 




;i^ 








§ •?•* 








i «■> s 









5 5 



*! £ 



1 


seal, n. & v. 
say 
shall 
send 
sew 
sink, n. & v. 

sing 

slip, n. & v. 

smoke, n. & v. 

spit 

stun 

swim 

teach 

thaw, n. & v. 

tell 

tear 

think 

tie, n. & v. 

wag 

warn 

weigh 

wean 

weep 

will, n. & v. 

run 


1 
> 


9s!Jjiiiii.ahisg§ B .3-8ssss*g 


Si" 
ft* 


g 2-g d o 2 §| I d^ d d « d §.a c d = d g.-g . d 


S 

►S 
> 


c ^-F.S £ u ~ a -JO. fj £;•- a. u o p -~ rt— 3 3 S H g >* 


ft) 


> >- > > > * > . >• * > > > 

.S £ a c ^c c- c c^ 3 y |j c - u b ^ « d " «s c C .S s 


1 

1 


a 


3 

ft) 


> > > > >' > > > > 

<& ^ cM <%> <S& <%% <$i r >y 

«1l^ «i s^ n.sji a s d a.g-s c « gs = § d 


1 


2-S.3 S S-sl Bsla'S ^l^« o'.S'gJl o^'&s 1 



so 



- ii 






380 Franco- English Period, AD. 1 200-1 600. 





7ZJK 0/" t 




"** Q 




g» g 




1 * 




C^ « 




►$ V 




^0 ^ 








^ k 




^> s> 




§ ^ 




■1 § 




Si ^ 


m 


« 


W 


* 5 


> 


2? S* 


h— 1 


fH 


^ ^ a 




•S ^ ^ 


£ 


k « « 


•— 1 


^ -s -s 




^ ! t 


M 


&.*• «§ 




« K ^ 


w 


Si s» ,*» 

^ si s> 


( ) 


k "*• 3 


w 
P4 


ropped 

ter than 

but for 




^ s °» 




S Si 


fL( 


JU Si k 









w 


£ 3 3 




ir, and 
^e one sy 

nly Eng 


<J 


H 



.a \j 



1 i 

Si _ 



Si ^ § 

•5 ^5 -S 



^ 
•*•« 



^ 



^ 



^ 






^ 



S5 

u 



£ U <U <L) 



<L> 



<U f* 



S.3-S 

C C «u 
12 "O :- 



3 jo o £ - r w o 

^ g tg J? § Ph^ 



^•O »% -^HS 



£ 2 S3 <u fi 






<L> > 



# 



.9 c . 



> " > ■ > 

& CD ^#<# 



o <u 



• • A <u 1: g y _; cs rs =<> • 



o ^ 



•- i ° <u oj •£ i; 



3 <u 
o 

0) o 



•C ^ £ S3' 



c^ 



«« -k; > 






jUe B 

o ^ 2 o 53 

7: o O o 

2 o c 

o o 



H E rt 



3 'S y 

C3 QJ 



^ C rt £ ,C 3 A 

4-. > ri « c O rt 



OJ tn OJ !- !_ •_ •„ 

•s: <u c v <u v <d 
'C tc •- t/j tJD $ -£ 
v 5 '£ G) oj J3 a s 

5 53 S -a rfS * ^a 



o ^ 



„ C c o = q 



>■ >• >• ^ J ^ > ►" 

. 'S ^ c d d -• d 



' 3 i) c d d" •. _,r 

£ ci o -C M M ^ 

s u e/>S b rt rt 
ri rt rt rt ^ ^ 

« -f, -53 13 y o 



i) 



i_ G ,_, j^ ^ , 

v p W)S3 53 « % 
q ^ fe ^ 2-^ ° o — 



3 ^-b 



rt « ^ £ > . cm.- 

£-« £* 3 o C - c 

<U O 

&8. 



2 s 



rt 



Sixteenth Century. 



381 



5J V r U <U X 



rt X r- ci — 

* s I B % 



X Z> 

a, o 






O 


u 


■- 


§S 


T3 '-G 


s-l 






G 
















> 


rt 


rt 


> 


22 


<u -5 


> 


> 



sx: aj u <u 



> > > v > <&>'«#„ > > & > >> >>> 

. . ■ tn z . ,jo fi . rt G £" _• .2 '3 '£ g £" • ^ '"G * ■ ^ • • - 

•» ~ . •- ™ 3 -Ox .^F 3 ^.rrtC &-TS 



O 



s* h -3 £ £ * ^ ^ <y = 



S 2 -2 o 



<U > rt CS 



<u .5 



a o 9 ^ 5i ^ 



C ii« o 



> > 



'53 ."2 'Soo 
> ;> > > > 



rt T 3 G- 
S3© 

TLB'S 



m5*og 



3 .3 ^ •— 

•c *- S w 



> G G it! 

go ws 



. <u 



h fcJ3 <" 



« 



J- !- 



§a§! 

3 u x x ^2 



G 53 .£ 
G fl x 

O S r^ 



o 3^^~ a 

Oh S C h 3 =i 

o-i2 iJ S o 3 






*J 



T3 rt c 

go 

.s > 



53 



>■ > > 

x G 



^ 



P jv </> G 

■a o ? 



o> G ^ °^ 

.8 2?-^* 8 o 



1) <U 



G^ g 






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* •> G 

G G G 3 

w 3 3 w 

o o 



c* 53 

o S "" ^3 



o 5 



r! 1- u fc, -h 

^ ^ Dh 



(U j- <U Sh ,_ a3 •- • 

5353^2^^.2-^^553: 

w -S o S 3 ? G a. v ° G G ! 

^^a2a^G,crcr' 



a s &S.=,s-s sis 






<u 



> 

=y DC 

G*,0 



> 



Ph 



p- a 



S ^3. 0-g.g 



^ P- 

o 



rt 



S.^'^Gj.-fyflG^^G 
<u (u V T 5 -'^'I?-^ >~. aj <u ^ 



>H ^ J^ 0» (U 



u 



H H o3 H '53 



"C g P- 



M S S4 

„ u 5 w « a 
&S*S S p EL'S c J3 » »• S ^ 8 -^ ^n 



•G 1- <L» 



s 1I.II all 1 1 111! I 



3 ^f-3 S 
- B s 



o o 



t * > > > 
u -s c " c d S d 

2 s 






> > 

03 . g 3 . g jj 2; g • 
3 S g . S o 



;^ 



.^ > 



^ 



,« G^^ 



; g CD aTO 
g, ^ ^ ^ " .3 G ^ «. ^ 






53 b/D 



( ^ .G O !- G ^J 
t/3 rt r 



<U 



a«i§ ^ ^ 



bd 



g, s 3 a 

rt - G 
(U G 



it! H 



332 



Franco-English Period, 



A.D. 1 200- 1 600. 



Table of 150 Anglo-Saxon verbs, that became obsolete and were replaced by 
Latin, Fre7tch, and Welsh verbs, usually one, two, and even three syllables 
shorter : 



Obsolete A nglo- 
Saxon verbs : 


Replaced by : 


Obsolete Anglo- 
Saxon verbs : 


Replaced by : 


accutan 


prove, French. 


hlaensian 


chastise, F. 


aeldian 


delay, n. & v., F. 


hleotan 


appoint, F. 


andaetan 


confess, F. 


hlosian 


perish, F. 


athylgian 


envy, n. & v., F. 


hlythrian 


purify, F. 


athywian 


appear, Latin. 


hogian 


study, n. & v., L. 


aydlian 


fail, F. 


hraeswan 


meditate, L. 


bereotan 


deplore, F. 


hrepian 


touch, n. & v., F. 


bonnan 


proclaim, F. 


hreran 


move, n. & v., L. 


brae tan 


change, n. & v., F. 


hrywsian 


lament, F. 


bredan 


roast, n. & v., F. 


hudenian 


examine, F. 


breman 


celebrate, L. 


hwotheran 


murmur, n. & v.. F. 


buwian 


cultivate, L. 


ingebugian 


inhabit, L. 


byrgan 


taste, n. & v. , F. 


ingewadan 


enter, F. 


caennan 


justify, F. 


inwyrcan 


influence, n. & v., F. 


cleopian 


cry, n. & v., F. 


lathian 


invite, F. 


cwencan 


vanish, L. 


leoran 


depart, F. 


dwaesian 


extinguish, L. 


lithian 


moderate, L. 


dreagan 


suffer, F. 


lyffetan 


natter, F. 


drefan 


trouble, n. & v. F. 


maensumian 


marry, F. 


eadmodan 


esteem, n. & v., F. 


mathelican 


harangue, n. & v., F. 


eafnian 


execute, F. 


medmian 


mediate, L. 


ealgian 


protect, L. 


metian 


measure, n. & v., F. 


eaphalsian 


blaspheme, F. 


mestucian 


punish. F. 


ehtian 


chase, n. & v., F. 


mithan 


avoid, F. 


essian 


consume, F. 


molsnian 


corrupt, L. 


fadian 


dispose, F. 


mynegian 


note, n. & v., F. 


faegan 


plant, n. & v., F. 


myngian 


mark, n. & v.. F. 


faegnian 


rejoice, F. 


myrran 


obstruct, L. 


fiolan 


happen, Welsh. 


mythgian 


quiet, L. 


fraepgian 


accuse, F. 


naegan 


address, n. & v., F. 


freomian 


profit, n. & v., F. 


neotan 


enjoy, F. 


fullestan 


aid, n. & v., F. 


nesan 


visit, n. & v., F. 


fysan 


desire, n. & v., F. ! 


nethan 


press, n. & v., F. 


galan 


enchant, F. 


nydan 


compel, L. 


ge-acnian 


conceive, F. 


onbeodan 


promise, n. & v., L. 


ge-refenlaecan 


imitate, L. 


onbestelan 


surprise, n. & v., F. 


ge-algian 


defend, F. 


onclypian 


invoke, F. 


ge-arian 


pardon, n. & v., F. 


onwrecan 


revenge, n. & v., F. 


ge-anberan 


resist, F. 


naefnian 


persevere, F. 


ge-arwian 


procure, F. 


retan 


comfort, n. & v., F. 


ge-anbidian 


expect, L. 


romigan 


cede, F. 


ge-bildan 


imagine, F. 


ricsian 


abound, F. 


geddian 


chant, n. & v., F. 


sacan 


quarrel, n. & v., F. 


ge-hiwian 


form, n. & v., F. 


saeccan 


preach, F. 


geldan 


pay, n. & v., F. 


samnian 


assemble. F. 


ge-hwirfnian 


turn, n. & v., F. 


scadan 


divide, L. 


ge-logian 


place, n. & v., F. 


scaenan 


destroy, F. 


ge-lydan 


arrive. F. 


sceawian 


consider, F. 


ge-Iomlaecan 


use, n. & v., F. 


scyfan 


suggest, L. 


ge-munan 


remember, F. 


scyftan 


order, n. & v., F. 


ge-metherian 


humble, adj. & v., F. 


scyndan 


excite, F. 


ge-raddian 


arrange, F. 


serwian 


conspire, F. 


ge-scippan 


create, L. 


sethan 


affirm, F. 


ge-swutelian 


declare, F. 


sprangettan 


pant, F. 


ge-teorian 


languish, F. 


spurian 


trace, F. 


ge-nnrotsia/i 


offend, L. 


stellan 


dance, n. & v., F. 


ge-unthwaenan 


differ, F. 


symblian 


feast, n. & v., F. 


ge-widmsersian 


publish, F. 


tealan 


blame, n. & v., F. 


ge-wlitegian 


adorn, L. 


teallan 


number, n. & v., F. 


gihaman 


cover, n. & v , F. 


tearflian 


roll, n. & v., F. 


hafetan 


applaud, F. 


tehhan 


determine, F. 


hawian 


regard, n. & v., F. 


teian 


produce, n. & v., F. 


hergian 


ravage, n. & v., F. 


telgian 


florish, n. & v., F. 



Sixteenth Centnry. 



383 



Obsolete Anglo- 
Saxon verbs : 


Replaced by : 


Obsolete Anglo- 
Saxon verbs : 


Replaced by : 


teofrian 


portray. F. 


waepnian 


arm, n. & v., F. 


theowian 


serve, F. 


waerdian 


guard, n. & v., F. 


teohhian 


resolve, n. & v., L. 


wealdan 


govern, F. 


treman 


fix, F. 


weallian 


travel, n. & v., F. 


twseman 


separate, L. 


wedan 


rage, n. & v., F. 


tyddrian 


propagate. L. 


verdian 


injure, F. 


tyslian 


procure, F. 


wilan 


couple, n. & v., F. 


tylhian 


grant, n. & v., F. 


wrixlian 


converse, F. 


unstillian 


agitate, L. 


wuldrian 


glorify, F. 


underlutan 


submit, L. 


wunian 


continue, F. 


upstigan 


ascend, F. 


ymbfrsetwian 


embroider, F. 


waegnian 


delude, F. 


ymtheatwian 


consult, F. 



The first Table shows how the Franco-Normans dropped an, 
ia?i, and on, from the Anglo-Saxon infinitive, and made other 
slight changes in the root of Anglo-Saxon verbs ; the second, how 
the Anglo-Saxons returned the compliment by altering French 
verbs in a similar way. To enable readers who may not have 
learned French to understand this Table fully, we will state that 
French, like Latin, has four conjugations, each distinguished by 
its infinitive ending in er, ir, oil', or re, which were omitted by 
the Anglo-Saxons, as may 'be seen by looking at these few verbs, 
taken from among the 8,000 verbs in the English language. By 
dropping these terminations and by some other slight altera- 
tions, French verbs became amenable to the four conjuga- 
tive English inflections, est, s, ed, and ing. Sometimes, not 
only the characteristic endings er, ir, oir, and re, are omitted, 
but also the letter immediately preceding, which rendered each 
of these adopted verbs one syllable shorter. By such selecting 
and clipping England went back to linguistic roots, and obtained 
a simple, strong, precise, telegraphic, and nearly uninflected 
language. 

When the changes in the verbs of the French Table are realized, 
a few practical remarks will make us reap the full benefit, intended 
by the framers of the English language. These 185 verbs aver- 
age from two to four syllables and nearly all end in r, which was 
dropped, except in one single instance : flatter (to flatter). We 
add the four conjugative English inflections : est, s, ed, and ing, 
to one French verb of each conjugation, in order to show how 
they would look, to say nothing of how they would sound with a 
letter as harsh as r in the last syllable : 



384 Franco -English Period, A.D. 1 200-1600. 

ist conjugation: 
Indicative present : I abandonner, thou abandonner-.?.^, he abandonner-J, &c. 
Imperfect : I abandonner-^, thou abandonner-^&tf, &c. 

Participle present : Abandonner-zVz£\ English, abandon. 

2D CONJUGATION : 

Indicative present : I assaillir, thou assaillir-^, he assaillir-j, &c. 
Imperfect : I assaillir-<?</, thou assaillir-^fr/, &c. 

Participle present : Assaillir-z7zg\ English, assail. 

3D CONJUGATION : 

Indicative present :T recevoir, thou recevoir-^j/, he recevoir-j, &c. 
Imperfect : I recevoir-^, thou recevoir-<?rfjtf, &c. 

Participle present : 'Recevoir-ing. English, receive. 

4TH CONJUGATION : 

Indicative present : I joindre, thou joindre-j-z 1 , he joindre-j, &c. 
Imperfect: I joindre-^, thou joindre-afof, &c. 

Participle present : Joindre-ing. English, join. 

As all readers can supply the respective English verbs, let us 
proceed. There was not only great linguistic wisdom, but eu- 
phonic tact displayed in dropping one, two, or three final letters, 
and in adapting the words for the new language, so as to avoid 
harshness of sound and prolixity of useless letters and syllables. 
Our readers may have observed how final ier was changed into 
y, and quer into ck and k. Another noteworthy fact may be ob- 
served in this Table : 85 of the 185 verbs are, with some slight 
alterations, excellent English nouns : appeal, attack, cause, charge, 
chant, combat, delay, dispute, escort, fatigue, force, gain, harangue, 
intrigue, judge, league, measure, place, quarrel, regret, rum, 
sign, sowid, touch, trouble, use, veil, vote, &c. This is a linguistic 
tolerance not to be found in other languages. Had these eu- 
phonic changes not been made in the adoption of French verbs 
during the transition from Anglo-Saxon to English, the two 
English inflections for declension and number, namely s for the 
possessive case and for the plural, would have looked and 
sounded as badly in nouns as in verbs. 

As the Table of 150 obsolete Anglo Saxon verbs, replaced by 
123 French, 26 Latin, and 1 Welsh, speaks for itself, we add no 
comment, except that the loss of the many Anglo-Saxon verbs, 
and other words with the cumbersome affix ge was an advantage 
to English. Before we pass to the English Period, we must not 



Sixteenth Century. 385 

omit to mention that, while these highly improving surgical oper- 
ations as to grammatic inflections, verbal omissions, substitutions, 
and other changes were going on, phonetic inconsistencies, odd 
provincialisms, and disharmony between letter and sound crept 
into the otherwise progressing national language, as may be noted 
by the following Tables and phonetic suggestions : 

A few of the many Phonetic Anomalies in the English Language, 
in which the very same letter, or combination of letters, is 
pronounced differently in every other word. 

Simple Vowels : 

A in : sh^ll and hall ; far and war ; was and waste ; past and 

ptfste ; vat and waiter ; p^lis^de and palsy, &c. 
E in : me and md: ; m^at, m<?<?t and m^te ; eye, key and th<?y ; 

d<?ar and b<?ar, &c. 
I in : finite and infinite ; slice and police ; entice and notice ; 

compromise and promise ; undername and determine ; 

ch/ld and children ; guide and languid ; indict and 

edict ; kind and kindle ; mind and mint, &c. 
O in : dome and come ; move, love, grove and groove ; comb, 

combat and tomb ; blood and good ; door and poor, &c. 
U in : z^se and us ; cut and acz/te ; fl«te and dispute, &c. 
Y in : my and army ; by and shabby ; apply and amply • try 

and country ; sky and risky ; shy and fishy* &c. ' 

Double Vowels : 

AU in : caught, draught and laugh. ; gauze and gauge ; beau 
and beauty, &c. 
ou and ow, which Walker, in his "Pronouncing Dic- 
tionary," calls " The most irregular assemblage of 
vowels in our language." 

OU in : bough, cough, enotigh, dough and through ; baz/ght and 
draught ; four, hour and your, &c. 

OW in : show and shower ; now and know ; allow and low ; 
flower and lower ; frown and grown, &c. 

We are aware that grammarians and orthoepists try to account 
for these anomalies on the ground of tonic accent, stress, em- 
phasis, &c. We think no tonic accent, stress, or emphasis should 
cover or account for inconsistencies, that complicate the most 
25 



386 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200- 1600. 

precious of sciences, language, cause loss of time and waste of 
thought and memory. 

Although the great English lexicographer and orthoepist, 
Walker, calls ou and ow "the i?iost irregular assemblage of vowels 
in our language" he suggests no remedy towards their being 
regularized. 

Thus every other word in the English language, or 45,000 of the 
90,000 English words, are exceptions, and must be committed to 
memory by foreigners and English children ; yet a slight effort 
on the part of the British and American Governments might, 
with little trouble and expense, contrive a method to phonetize 
English and bring it to some plain phonetic rule like the Ger- 
man : Write as you pronounce, a?zd pronounce as you write ; then 
introduce that method into their government printing and schools, 
which would be a decided step towards what the lamented Charles 
Sumner called "Harmo7iy between the written and spoken word" 
Competent teachers say it takes on an average five years to teach 
children English spelling ; whereas it would take but two years, 
if there was harmony between letter and sound. What a saving 
of precious time to foreigners and children, to say nothing of 
adults, who are constantly obliged to have a dictionary at their 
elbow, and refer to it to retain the so-called English orthog- 
raphy !! ! The three years lost in spelling conundrums, like 
the above* might be applied to chemistry, botany, drawing, vocal 
music and other mechanic and manufacturing arts, including ele- 
ments of cooking for girls, and agriculture for boys. The Eng- 
lish-speaking populations number now about ninety millions ; 
hence, any system that could save three years per child, would 
save three times ninety millions, or two hundred and seventy 
million years to the next generation, and every generation after 
it. Such an amount of time, devoted to useful arts and sciences, 
would improve the race in a short time. 

As the London Board of Education, endorsed by one hundred 
provincial Boards and ten thousand elementary teachers, have 
already applied for the appointment of a royal commission to 
inquire into the expediency of phonetizing English, it is time the 
great Republic of forty millions should join a movement that will 
prove such a boon to popular education. Let us not omit to 
state, that the American Philologic Societies, including eminent 



Sixteenth Century. 387 

professors and teachers, have been working towards the same 
noble end. 

Behold what Ex-Chancellor Lowe, M.P., wrote to the Philo- 
logic Conference of professors, divines, and scholars, assembled 
at London, May 29th, 1877 : "There are, I am informed, 39 
sounds in the English language ; there are 24 letters ; I think 
that each letter should represent o?ie sound ; that 15 new letters 
should be added, so that there be a letter for every sound, and that 
every o?ie should ivrite as he speaks." We think English can be 
phonetized with less radicalism, less sacrifice of intimacy, of 
pleasantness to the eye, and of home feeling. With fifteen new 
letters it would seem a foreign language. 

Consider how phonetic Anglo-Saxon words were distorted 
during the Franco-English transition from A.D. 11 54, when 
Anglo-Saxon ceased to be a written dialect, to A.D. 1600, when 
the language became English. Letters were changed to suit 
provincial patois, and letters were added to ease the utterance 
of certain Anglo-Saxon words for the Franco-Normans. 



388 Franco-English Period, A.D. 1200-1600. 



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SixteentJi Century. 



339 



English from A.D. 1400 to 1878 in its Greco-Latin 
Vocabulary. 

Behold how little Greco-Latin words, introduced by Robert 
[Manning, A.D. 1303, Sir John Mandeville, 1356, Langland, 1362, 
Chaucer, 1380, and Gower, 1400, have changed as compared 
with Anglo-Saxon : 



ENGLISH, A 


D. 1400. 


ENGLISH, 1878. 


ENGLISH, A.D. 


1400. 


ENGLISH, 1878. 


folie 


R. M. 


folly 


table 


Ch. 


table 


outrage 
passage 
translate 


J. M. 


outrage 
passage 
translate 


college 

fruit 

silence 


_tt 
tt 
it 


college 

fruit 

silence 


visite 


it 


visit 


force 


tt 


force 


turn 
fever 

planet 

part 

religion 


ft 

L. 
<< 

Ch. 
tt 


turn 

fever 
planet 
part 
religion 


possibilitee 

ignorance 

prologue 

danger 

curious 


tt 
it 

tt 
a 


possibility 

ignorance 

prologue 

danger 

curious 


maladie 
amnitie 
prison 
latitude 


«< 


malady 
affinity 
prison 
latitude 


charge 
guide 
face 
change 


tt 
tt 
1 1 


charge 
guide 
face 
change 


refuge 
double 
regard 


tt 
tt 


refuge 

double 
regard 


pardon 

philosophic 
flatter 


tt 
it 
a 


pardon 

philosophy 

flatter 


nature 


tt 


nature 


labour 


u 


labor 


vice 


" 


vice 


fortune 


1 1 


fortune 


famine 


tt 


famine 


gain 


" 


gain 


pholologie 
cause 


tt 


philology 
cause 


emperour 
noble 


G. 


emperor 
noble 


talent 


tt 


talent 


mirrour 


" 


mirror 


volume 


tt 


volume 


prince 


tt 


prince 


surprise 


tt 


surprise 


courage 


it 


courage 



This Table numbers fifty Greco-Latin words, all of which, except ten, are 
now in French and English, as they were five centuries ago ; hence the Greco- 
Latin part of the English vocabulary may be easily phonetized. 

As languages from Hebrew to Icelandic have been simplified and phone- 
tized by slight marks or diagrams, English need hardly remain an exception. 
When Hebrew was threatened with confusion, Jewish scholars devised the 
Masora with vowel points, accents, &c. When Greek expanded from the 
Hellespont to Tndia and Egypt, letter and sound were harmonized by accents 
and other slight marks. When French became the diplomatic medium, accents, 
dieresis, and cedilla were introduced. When the Germans perceived phonetic 
defects they resorted to the imilant 'a, o and u. It is said when Spain saw 
that her written word contained unpronounced letters, her academy ordered 



390 Franco -English Period, A.D. 1 200-1600. 

them to be weeded out. To avoid increasing their alphabet, numbering 
twenty-six letters, the Scanic peoples : Icelanders, Norwegians, Danes, and 
Swedes, added accents, umlaut, and diagrams to eight of their alphabetic 
characters. Now, to avoid adding " fifteen new letters'''' to the English 
alphabet, as proposed by the Hon. ex-Chancellor Lowe, why should not the 
highly practical English and Americans imitate their Semitic, Greco-Latin, 
and Gotho-Germanic predecessors? By adding fifteen letters they would 
complicate education and render useless all the English archives and books 
now in libraries and record offices. 

PHONETIC CRITICISMS, BY THE MOST PRACTICAL ENGLISH PHILOLOGISTS. 

" Our orthography has done its utmost to perplex pronunciation." — 
Walker 1 s Dictionary. 

" The evil of our irregular orthography is extensive beyond what is gener- 
ally known or conceived. A due regard to the purity of the language, to the 
convenience of learners, whether citizens or foreigners, and to the usefulness 
of a language which is to be the most extensive on the globe, and the chief 
instrument of civilizing and christianizing nations, seems to demand, and surely 
justifies the labor of collecting the more enormous - anomalies which deform 
it. One would suppose, that these considerations, concurring with the honor 
of our nation, would induce the lovers of literature to make some concessions 
of private opinions for the accomplishment of these desirable objects." — Noah 
Webster'' 's Dictionary. 

" To mention all the contradictory singularities, which are found in reading 
and speaking English, would be too serious a task." — Wright's Dictionary. 

" The orthography of our language is attended with much uncertainty and 
perplexity. 11 — Goold Browii's Grammar of Grammars. 

" The agitation of spelling-reform, which appears in cultivated nations from 
time to time, aims at restoring the harmony between letter and sound. Of 
the three languages we may say that the German is (comparatively speaking) 
phonetic, and the French consistent ; while the English is neither the one nor 
the other." — Earless Philology of the English Tongue (1873). 

" There must be harmony between the written and spoken word." — Hon. 
Charles Sumner (1873). 

Let us for a moment attend the teaching of the alphabet and 
the "Indispensable Spelling Book:" Mama tries hard to teach 
her darling A, B, C, &c. . . . Blocks, figures, diagrams and 
all sorts of contrivances are applied. At last connection between 
letter and sound is mastered, so that sight of letter produces its 
sound. After some lessons of two-letter syllables come three- 



Sixteenth Century. 391 

letter words : fat, bad, can, &c. . . . Ma, you told me this 
is ai ; now you tell me another sound for it. 

Mother perceives the contradiction, but passes to fate, ape, 
late, &c. ... in which a accords with the sound taught in 
the alphabet. Next day fall, all, ball, meet the child's eyes and 
ears. Ma, this sound is very different from ai on the block. 
How shall I ever learn? Mama caresses the little one and tells 
it, all would come out right. Another lesson brings far, car, 
father, &c. . . . But, Ma, when teaching me the block, you 
said this letter is ai, now you say it is ah. It cannot be so, you 
must be mistaken, Ma, I never can learn all this. So e has two 
sounds ; i two ; three , ti three ; y two, and each of the six 
vowels is often mute. Rather worried, Mama dismisses her pet 
with a kiss. How fortunate children soon forget. For the first 
time Ma realized discord between letter and sound, saw diffi- 
culties ahead for her darling in hundreds of words, especially 
such as cow, low ; bough, cough ; our, four; caught, draught ; 
right, write, writ, rite, wright, &c, ... in which the same 
letters are pronounced differently. There should be a humani- 
tary movement like that of the philotheric Bergh, to prevent this 
cruel conundric instruction to children ; fathers, mothers, rulers, 
and philanthropists of all grades, should unite and contrive some 
method to harmonize letter and sound, so as to save useless men- 
tal worriment to the innocent and unconscious martyrs of this 
most irrational spelling system, a hideous legacy of the Dark 
Ages, through which the language passed. 

In reading Mr. Oliphant's "Standard English," we are pleased 
to find that English scholars begin to perceive disharmony be- 
tween letter and sound in their native tongue. He says p. 128 : 
"A foreigner may well despair of pronouncing English vowels, 
when he finds that the words rune, wound, and mood, are all 
sounded in the same way." Hence a foreigner must despair, 
when he finds that the same ough in bough, bought, enough, dough, 
trough, through, is sounded six times differently, without the 
slightest mark, sign, or indication of any change of sound. When 
I attentively listen to English utterance, I perceive hardly any 
difference between the suffixes ar, er, or, in scholar, matter, doctor, 
&c. . . . The example is so contagious that I have become 
as careless in English utterance as my neighbors ; yet when I 



39 2 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200- 1600. 

speak or read French or German, I pronounce distinctly ; so 
when I read Greek or Latin. The educated are to blame for 
this : to keep their language harmonious they should practise a 
standard utterance and writing, and exact it from others. 

In our Table of English vowels are 14 vowel- sounds, repre- 
sented by 6 vowels. Here are 43 English vowel-combinations 
called diphthongs and triphthongs : 

aa, ae, ai, ao, au, aw, ay, aye * = 8 

ea, eau, ee, ei, eo, eou, eu, ew, ewe,f ey, eye J = 11 

ia, iaou,§ ie, ieu, iew, io, iou, iu = 8 

oa, oe, oei,|[ oeu,^[ oi, 00, ou, ow, oy = 9 

ua, ue, ui, uo, uoy,** uy = 6 

ye = 1 

43 

Vowel-combinations are probably more numerous in English 
than in any other European language, owing to the multifarious 
origin of its vocabulary ; but incongruous as these may seem, 
they are nearly all covered by the fourteen single vowel sounds, 
and may therefore be more easily harmonized than would appear 
at first sight. 

The Danish monk, Orrmin, in his Ormulum about A.D. 1200, 
tried hard to double every consonant, while others multiplied 
vowel-combinations as shown above ; the simple monosyllables 
for, hand, him, it, that, with, &c, he wrote forr, hannd, himm, 
itt, thatt, withth, &c. ; but this glaring insult to common sense 
was spurned ; yet plough, which arose about the same period, 
took the place of simple Anglo-Saxon plog, and has been kept to 
this day. We think many of these heterogeneous combinations 
are owing to foreign monks and copyists, who fancied they could 
improve the new idiom. 

* This vowel combination only occurs in the sense of yes and of ever. 

f «« " ." " " female sheep. 

% " " " " word eye. 

§ " " " " " giaour. 

I " " " " " oeillads, used by Shakes- 

peare in '•'•King Lear" 
\ il " " " Franco-English word manoetwre. 

** u " l< " Gothc-Germanic word buoy. 



Sixteenth Century. 



393 



As it might interest readers to know how some simple Anglo- 
Saxon words changed, till they reached their present compli- 
cated English form, we give the changes as far as we have ascer- 
tained : 





ANGLO- 


CHANGES : 


DATE OF THEIR 




SAXON : 




PRESENT FORM ; 


Mouth 


muth 


A. D. 600 to 1 100 


mouth 1250 


Down, adv. 


dun 


" doun 1250 


down 1330 


Thou 


thu 




. thou 1270 


Drought 


drugothe 


" drouth and drowth 
about 1260 


(?) 


South 


suth 




south 1280 


House 


hus 


" hous 1300 


house 1340 


Fowl* 


fugel 


" foule 161 1 


(?) 


Town 


tun 


" toun 1300 


■ (?) 


How 


hu 




how 1303 


Now 


nu 




now 1303 


Out 


ut 


" oute 1303 


(?) 


Our 


ur 


" oure 1307 


our 1320 


Wound 


wund 


" wownde 1320 


(?) 


Hound 


hund 




hound 1320 


Ground 


grund 

FRENCH : 


" grond 1340 


ground 1 380 


Tower 


tour 


tour 1300, tom-e 








1 3 10 


(?) 


Power 


pouvoir 


powere 1303 


(?) 


Flower 


fleur 


flur 1310 


(?) 



The above words clearly show that on and ow only appeared 
after the Franco-Norman Conquest, and that with it also came 
this capricious pronunciation and orthography ; for the spelling 
of the Anglo-Saxon words is simple. Hence the plea of ety- 
mology cannot be urged against freeing English from Medieval 
distortions by adapting letter to sound. It is noteworthy that, 
where there is one Franco-English word that underwent con- 
siderable change, there are ten Anglo-Saxon, that were so capri- 
ciously altered, that they are hardly recognizable. Most words, 
introduced into English by Robert Manning, Adam Davie, 
Chaucer, and Gower, especially in age, ege, ige, ence, ense, a?zee, 

* As late as 161 1 we find this word foule in King James' Bible, Gen. i. 
20. Who first substituted w for u and dropped the final useless mute <?, we 
know not. 



394 Franco-English Period, A.D. 1 200-1 600. 

as courage, privilege, vestige, prudefice, defense, arrogance, are 
now as they were five centuries ago. This seems unaccountable 
in the midst of such linguistic changes. 

Present English owes its disharmony between letter and sound 
to provincialisms, that accidentally crept into it during the 
Franco-English transition from Edward the Confessor, 1043, to 
Henry VII., 1509, when the English idiom approached its pres- 
ent form. During that period almost every shire and every city 
had a peculiar brogue or patois both as to utterance and writing. 
A few characteristic words may suffice to illustrate the Medieval 
"Babel" in England. Hence let us watch the origin, progress, 
and ultimate form of the sonorous Gothic ganah ; Anglo-Saxon 
genog, till about 1135, when it became onoh ; next inoh and 
inou, about 1160; anog, 1230; ynow, 1303; y?ioug, 1450, and 
ynough, in Chaucer about 1380. Thus this one and the same 
vocable, starting from Gothic ganah, underwent eight changes, 
from neither of which any one could imagine its present English 
form, sound, or meaning. I myself, patient reader, have yet to 
find out the genius in whose brain the inconsistent combination 
of letters and sound for enough originated. Why not make short 
work of this most heterogeneous compound as to letters and 
sound, write it enuf, as pronounced, and wipe out accidental 
forms that resulted from ignorance and carelessness, or reassume 
the venerable Gothic ganah ? 

The German has been and is now genug, written as pro- 
nounced and pronounced as written, and differing but slightly 
from the Anglo-Saxon genog. 

Witness the petrifactions of an Anglo-Saxon word not quite 
as erratic as enough. Pardon our expression, since a geologic 
linguist styled written language " petrified thought." Anglo- 
Saxon micle in King Ethelbert's Anglo-Saxon Code, A.D. 597. 
From 597 to 1120 we see micel, my eel, mycele, mucele, and moche 
in writings of the different shires. We find it muche and muchel, 
1 1 60; muchele, 1230; moche in Robert Manning's " Handlyng 
Synne" 1303; mochel in Chaucer's " Canterbury Tales," about 
1380; moche in the fifteenth century. Since ,it reassumed its 
form of 1 160 minus e, or much, whose exact date we cannot 
state. Mucchio in sunny Italy, mycken in hyperborean Scan- 
dinavia, and mucho in Spain, for one and the same idea, might 



Sixteenth Century. 395 

seem linguistic accidents, did not history relate that the Goths, 
fifteen centuries ago, overran and conquered those countries. 
Mekyl is yet heard in the Scotch Highlands. A French meta- 
morphosis might be interesting after the two Anglo-Saxon : 
croune, 1250; corune, 1280; coroune, 1340; now crown in Eng- 
lish and couronne in French. If there is etymology in such 
capricious changes, ctv/jlos, true, and Aoyos, word, must have lost 
their original meaning. 

When the English language has been phonetized — so that the 
vowel- and diphthong-sounds have corresponding letters, marks 
or signs, we suggest their being literally harmonized, as much as 
art and science can do it, thus forming a standard for both sound 
and letter, in order not to lose that corresponding sound, letter 
and sign, as happened in Greek and Latin, whose real sounds, 
letters and accents have been a subject of discussion for cen- 
turies. 

Since the human voice has already been artificially imitated 
with partial success, we see no reason why governments that 
spend millions in polar expeditions, transits of Venus, and other 
scientific experiments, should not direct the attention of institutes, 
academies and learned societies to think of, and find means to 
perpetuate a score of linguistic corresponding sounds and letters, 
as a standard for their native tongue, whether that standard be in 
the shape of a linguistic automaton, a timing-fork, diapason, har- 
moitiphon, accordion, telephone, phonograph, or any other melodi- 
ous name. If such a standard is impossible, let an English 
Masora * be devised. But as harmonists have already determined 
the pitch of primitive vowel-sounds, the carrying out of our sug- 
gestion seems feasible. Prof. Edison might find this desideratum. 

Before the Victoria Version of the Bible is issued, England and 
America ought to have a convention of practical men, including 
linguists, elocutionists, phonographers, physiologists, and printers 
to accord letter and sound, as much as practicable, and to remove 
the few grammatic irregularities, so that this version might go forth 

* A book explaining the pronunciation and reading of Hebrew according to 
vowel-points and accents, written by learned Rabbis about A.D. 800. Masora 
means pronwtciation, delivery, elocution, &c. ... If, a thousand years ago, 
the Jews thought it worth while to harmonize letter with sound and sound 
with letter, why should not the English-speaking populations do likewise ? 



39^ Franco-English Period, A.D. 1200-1600. 

in English, rendered as simple, easy and direct as possible, not 
only for natives and foreigners of enlightened countries, but 
especially for the benighted races it is to christianize and civilize. 
The fames' Version of 161 1 was printed in black letter, which 
was superseded by the Roman character, in which it had soon to 
be published. There were then probably twenty millions of 
English-speaking people, since increased to ninety millions. If 
the Victoria Version lasts 267 years, like that of James I., the 
English-speaking populations will reach five hundred millions — 
yea, English will probably be the universal language ! Hence, 
let England and America make an Herculean effort here and now 
to perfect their native tongue for its grand mission. 

It is said the Japanese government expressed a desire to see 
the English language phonetized, so that they could teach it more 
readily in their schools. 

No doubt the harmonizing of letter and sound is the important 
literary and scientific question for the English-speaking popu- 
lations. 

About twenty methods of harmonizing letter and sound by 
means of phonetic alphabets, numbering from thirty to forty 
letters, have been proposed ; but as such a change might cause 
confusion in education, writing, reading, literature, and science, 
and destroy millions of property in the shape of type, printing 
apparatus and books, the world pronounces it impracticable. 

The most prominent of the twenty methods to harmonize letter 
and sound are John Hart's u Orthographie conteyning the due 
order and reason howe to write or painte thimage of manners 
voice, moste like to the life or nature" (1569), and Pitman's alpha- 
bet of thirty-eight characters, 1843. 

As we find but fourteen vowel-sounds, most of which are mere 
shades of sound, we propose to phonetize English with the present 
alphabet with very little change or expense, and involving no 
confusion either in writing, reading, education, literature, science, 
and without interfering with books now in our libraries. 

We hope a few personal remarks on authors of this period will 
not be considered out of place here : The vocabulary of Robert 
of Gloucester's " Chronicle" forms the transition between Anglo- 
Saxon and Franco-English ; as such it deserves the notice of 
philologists and literati. It averages about twenty per cent. 



Sixteenth Century. 397 

French. Robert Manning's and Adam Davie's writings open 
the fourteenth century, and prepare the way for Chaucer and 
Gower. 

No English education is complete unless the individual who 
claims it, went with Chaucer from Tabard to Canterbury in com- 
pany with " Prioresse Eglantine,'' the Sergeant of the Lawe, Monk, 
Sompnour, and the other twenty-five pilgrims. We must con- 
fess we were agreeably disappointed to find in the fourteenth 
century a book, which, for its critical acumen, delicate satire and 
dry wit, reminded us of our college years' classics : Theophrastus' 
7]0ikoi xapo.KTr)p€s, Cervantes' " Don Quixote," La Bruyere's 
" Characteres," and Wieland's " Abderiten ; " only the touch and 
go style, in description of character, surpasses anything we ever 
read. We met "Madame Eglantine'' 1 in convents of our day; 
Sompnours, who "wold speken no word but Latin," we saw and 
heard in our travels ; Sergeants of the Lawe are legion ; so are 
li Doctours of phisike " here and now. Read " Canterbury 
Tales," then peruse Tyrwhitt's comments thereon ; for, if you 
read Tyrwhitt's comments before or while reading Canterbury 
Tales, your literary ardor will be cooled. 

If in Chaucer's day Greek books had been common in Western 
Europe, we should say he read Theophrastus' " Moral Characters'* 
and received the ideal of his personages and characters thence. 
We think Cervantes, who died the same day as Shakespeare, 
April 23, 1 61 6, scanned the Canterbury Tales and obtained the 
first glimpse of his knight-errantry therefrom. Surely, "Ye 
Knightes Tale'" 1 is sufficiently quixotic, for he commences by 
telling : 

" How wonnen was the regne of Feminie, 
By Theseus, and hy his chevalrie ; 
And of the grete bataille for the nones 
Betwix Athenes and the Amasones ; 
And how asseged was Ipolita, 
The faire hardy quene of Scythia." 

As to La Bruyere, 1688, he may have perused Chaucer; but 
he himself tells us his characters are Theophrastic. No doubt, 
Wieland, who was versed in English, and made the first German 
translation of Shakespeare's dramas, was acquainted with Chau- 
cer's writings, and conceived therefrom ideas for his Abderites. 



398 Franco -English Period, A.D. 1 200-1600. 

"The Man of Lawes Tale," who opens his story by thus chiding 
the beggar : 

" Maugre thin hed thou must for indigence 
Or stele, or bege, or borwe thy dispence," 

was well calculated to suggest ideas for the characters of judges 
and lawyers of ancient Abdera. From this standpoint alone 
Chaucer merits to be styled, not only the Father of English Liter- 
ature, but the giver of European literary ideals. 

Gower's writings could never rouse our enthusiasm ; the fault 
may be in us and not in the poet's productions. We cannot 
help holding Lydgate's writings and character in high esteem. 
Langland's vocabulary seems to us choicer and clearer than that 
of any other writer of this period. We were delighted to find so 
much more in Occleve's works than we expected. As Spenser 
closes our Extracts and Tables, he may be considered the tran- 
sition author ; of him Campbell says : " He threw the soul of 
harmony in our verse, and made it more warmly, tenderly, and 
magnificently descriptive than it ever was before, or, with a few 
exceptions, than it has ever been since." 

It is a mistake to say and think, that these Medieval authors are 
difficult to understand : only the first look at their productions 
gives that erroneous impression ; on a second attempt the 
words and phraseology become interesting on account of their 
very primitiveness, simplicity, and quaintness, as may be realized 
by the few lines we quote from Chaucer's "Canterbury TalesV 

A retrospect of the arts and mechanics of the Franco-English 
Period (A.D. 1200-1600) will not be out of place here ; for they 
have been, are, and ever will be rich sources of linguistic lore : 
through them language gains in vocabulary, force and refinement. 
About the opening of this period bands of artists, mechanics and 
workmen of different trades and countries formed themselves into 
societies, under the blessing of the Pope, styled themselves "Free- 
Masons" and offered their skill to liberal princes, nobles, bishops 
and abbots. Henry III. of England was one of their most zealous 
patrons. It is claimed, that during his reign (1216-1273), 157 
abbeys, priories and other religious houses were founded. These 
vast and numerous structures attracted foreign artisans to Eng- 
land, and introduced through them technic terms into the starting 



Sixteenth Century. 399 

English idiom ; this, no doubt, must have directly and indirectly 
contributed to make English the composite language it now is. 
Beautiful specimens of the delicate, yet solid, style of Gothic 
architecture rose : among the most noteworthy are the cathedrals 
of Salisbury, Winchester, York, Coventry, &c., which rival any- 
thing of the kind, not excepting those of Strasburg, Paris, Burgos, 
Vienna, &c. This architecture has been, is and ever will be the 
admiration of mankind for its ethereality ; yet it does not lack 
solidity, as shown by its having resisted atmospheric and other 
influences over four centuries. Thus was England studded with 
architectural monuments of every description from A.D. T200 to 
1600. The magnificent Gothic structure, St. Michael's cathedral 
at Coventry, was begun during the reign of Edward III. (A.D. 
I 3 2 7~ I 377)) by two brothers, Adam and William Bota, at their 
own expense. It took them twenty-two years to build it, and 
cost about ^2, 000. It has one of the most graceful steeples in 
Europe ; the length of the main edifice and the height of the 
steeple are the same, namely 303 feet, the width of the building 
being 104 feet. Its style is as chaste and ethereal as that of u La 
Sainte Chapelle" at Paris. 

As yet England had no eminent painters ; but already Zeuxis 
and Apelles had inspired Raphael, A.D. 150.0, and Albert Diirer, 
A.D. 1508 ; Phidias and Praxiteles had reappeared in Michael 
Angelo, A.D. 15 10, and in his pupil Torrigiano, who wrought the 
monument of Henry VII. at Westminster, A.D. 15 18, for which 
he received the liberal sum of ^1,000. This eminent artist died 
a victim of the Inquisition in Spain, A.D. 1522. Hans Holbein 
found, through his friend Erasmus, such liberal patrons in Sir 
Thomas More and Henry VIII. that he went to England, where 
he practised his art and died A.D. 1554. The great German 
artist took portraits of the family of Henry VIII. and of many 
noble families. Those portraits are now the pride of the English 
Museums. Thus did art radiate over the Earth and enrich lan- 
guage, and through it literature and science ; thus found the fine 
arts remuneration in England, where taste and elegance were 
studies, as may be observed in the refined manly and womanly 
bearing and expression of character. Surely, the mixing of the 
Anglo-Saxon, Franco-Norman and Celtic races in Britain was an 
anthropologic improvement. Let us not omit that, while this 



400 Franco- English Period, A.D. 1200- 1600. 

artistic activity was going on in England, superb structures were 
reared in France, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, and Spain. 

During this Period books and manuscripts were written with 
initial letters, in which human figures were drawn and adorned 
with water colors. likenesses, styles of dress, and even man- 
ners and customs have been obtained from that source. The art 
has been called illumination. 

The melodious art that soothes or excites the nerves, accord- 
ing to its style, had zealous admirers and patrons in Britain : 
Henry V., himself a performer and singer, had a band, in which 
were ten clarions. This band played one hour morning and 
evening before his tent, about A.D. 141 6. It is said James I. 
of Scotland (1424) could perform on eight different instruments. 
Music had votaries in England during the sixteenth century ; for 
Henry VIII. was a lover of the harmonious art ; and Queen 
Elizabeth not only favored it, but must herself have been no 
mean performer, if she could play the pieces in her virginal book. 
Marbeck and Tallis were the foremost English composers and 
contributors of the musical vocabulary in the English language. 
Marbeck wrote a work entitled "Book of Common Prayer 
Noted," 1550, while Tallis composed anthems that are con- 
sidered of high value now. Lulli, styled the Father of Dramatic 
Music, only appeared in the seventeenth, Mozart in the eighteenth, 
and Bellini in the nineteenth century. The learned antiquarian, 
Strut*, thinks the following lines on music were penned during 
the reign of Henry VII. (A.D. 1485-1509). We cite them as 
a specimen of the musical vocabulary of that time : 

" Who pleyethe on the harpe, he sholde pleye trewe ; 

Who syngythe a songe, let hys voyce be tunable ; 
Who wrestythe the clavycorde, mystunynge eschewe ; 

Who blowethe a trompet, let ys wynde be mesurable ; 
For instromentes themselves be firme and stable, 

And of trowthe, wolde trowthe to every man's songe, 
Tune them then trewly, for in them is no wronge." 

Final mute e has been dropped with advantage from sixteen 
words of these lines. The English idiom would gain in simplicity, 
terseness, and force if final mute e was dropped from thousands 
more. Dryden calls music "inarticulate poetry." We think 
music is more exactly and harmoniously articulated than any 



Sixteenth Century. 



401 



poetry, especially when the term is applied to instrumental 
music. 

Naval architecture lost its Anglo-Saxon frailty and lightness. 
This change became imperative, when naval warfare and distant 
commercial enterprise came in vogue ; massive oak walls were 
needed to face oceanic storms and cannonading. Now more 
and more new naval terms flowed into the English language. 
Spain's "Invincible Armada" commanded by some Don, could 
not withstand England's "Men of War" commanded by a " gal- 
lanttar? A.D. 1588. 



Gradual accessions to the Anglo-Saxon Dialect from the close of the sixth to 
the close of the sixteenth century. 





Anglo-Saxon 










or Gotho- 


Greco-Latin : 


Celtic : 


Semitic : 




Germanic : 








From A.D. 500 to 600... 


94 per cent. 


6 per cent. 






" 600 " 700.. . 


94 " 


6 " 






" 700 " 800.. . 


86 " 


14 " 






" 800 " 900.. . 


94 " 


6 " 






" 900 " 1000... 


95 " 


4 " 




1 per cent. 


" IOOO " IIOO.. . 


95 " 


5 " 






" IIOO " 1200. .. 


88 " 


12 " 






'• 1200 " 1300... 


74 " 


24 " 


1 per cent. 


1 " 


" 1300 " 1400... 


60 " 


38 " 


1 " 


1 " 


" 1400 " 1500. .. 


53 " 


46 " 


1 " 




" 1500 " 1600... 


5o " 


47 " 


2 " 


1 " 



This Table shows that only in the sixteenth century and at the 
close of the Franco-English Period the foreign element, Greco- 
Latin, Celtic, and Semitic, equalled the native Anglo-Saxon or 
Gotho-Germanic, each being fifty per cent. 
26 



ENGLISH PERIOD, A.D. 1600-1878. 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 



"There is not perhaps any language in the world, which has experienced so many revolu- 
tions as the English ; and, like the political constitution of the country, it seems to have gained 
both strength and energy by every change," — Fry's PaiUography, p. 60. 

At the opening of this period the language had passed through 
the Anglo-Saxon and Franco-English transitions, and become 
pure English. Free from complicated Gotho-Germanic declen- 
sion, conjugation, inflections, syntactic puerilities, and having 
attained more directness in construction, it could easily admit 
words, thoughts, ideas, and modes of expression from any and all 
languages. As scientists, literati, inventors, and discoverers in 
all departments of knowledge became numerous, we must attend 
to classes, genera, species, and overlook individual thinkers and 
writers. During the Anglo-Saxon and Franco-English periods, 
when vernacular authors were few and far between (most works 
being written in Latin), we commented on every one, because we 
were glad to see any thought blooming into vernacular expres- 
sion. We dilated on every chronicler : an alphabet, an allu- 
sion to any personage or event, a few lines, a short prayer in the 
vernacular was welcome ; even poor Latin was a forerunner of, 
and guide to, vernacular thought, conception, ideas and expres- 
sion. The hitherto contracted linguistic horizon expanded be- 
yond the British Isles : England, with a mixed enterprising popu- 
lation of Goths, Germans, Celts, and French, was ready to enter 
upon her grand mission and become cosmopolitan, as indicated 
by her isolated island home. As this period opens with an 
unparalleled vista of great intellects, not only in Britain, but in 
most countries, we shall notice mental productions, whether in 



404 English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 

the domain of science, art, or mechanics, by a method in harmony 
with progressive strides and vast results. 

During the seventeenth century England founded colonies in 
America and Asia, where her language began to echo in 1607 
and 1612 : hence this century maybe styled England's colonizing 
era. As the Puritans and Quakers were intellectual people and 
brought pure English to the New World, America has no patois 
or provincialisms like the mother country. When we consider 
that the United States, stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific, 
2,000 miles, started with the Virginia settlement, 1607, and the 
Plymouth colony, 1620, it is an astounding fact. So is the Indo- 
British Empire, extending from Cashmere to Cape Comorin, 1,900 
miles, starting from a humble factory, erected at Surat about 161 2. 

This mania for emigration was not confined to England ; it 
agitated Europe, which became a swarming bee-hive : after vari- 
ous attempts, France succeeded in founding a colony at Quebec, 
Canada, 1608. Hollanders settled New Amsterdam (now New 
York), 1614; the Cape of Good Hope, 1650, and Celebes Isles 
about 1667. Swedes and Finns founded a colony on the Dela- 
ware, 1627; but within about one-hundred and fifty years Eng- 
land captured and annexed most of those colonies and extended 
her language and sway over them. Thus had a spirit of adven- 
ture seized upon the children of the Medieval Goths and Ger- 
mans. As long as such an elan does not tend to war between 
nations, let it rise and subside like the beneficent storm that 
clears and purifies a heavy atmosphere ; let it ebb and flow like 
the waves that stir and mingle the waters of the deep ; for such ac- 
tivity is calculated to produce expansion of races, mixing of 
peoples, and approaching of remote tribes towards civilization. 
Moreover, this spirit is an attribute of the soul that yearns for a 
higher existence, ever asking where, when, and what is it, while 
intuition points to a home beyond the grave. It is neither of 
yesterday nor of to-day; it parted Noah's progeny at Babel, 
fired Abraham in Chaldee, inspired Moses in Egypt, and led the 
Phenicians to Carthage, Betica and the British Isles. It accom- 
panied Pytheas to Ultima Thule, Columbus to America, Gama 
round the Cape of Good Hope, Cooke round the world, Hum- 
boldt and Bonpland over the Andes, Fremont over the Rocky 
Mountains, Sir John Franklin and Dr. Kane to the North Pole, 



Seventeenth Century. 405 

Du Chaillu, Livingstone, and Stanley, through Equatorial Africa. 
It is a noble spirit ; it is divine. 

Among the stirring personages and events of this period, we 
must allude to some that incalculably influenced civilization and 
progress: "Plymouth Rock" became a household word in the 
American mind ; the landing of that band of resolute men and 
women, with their families, stamped on the New World character- 
istics of enterprise, economy, and thrift, that have been, are, and 
will be expanding over this hemisphere. Mrs. Hemans' poem 
on the Pilgrims is a befitting tribute to that bold colony of com- 
bined heroes and heroines, who sought new homes for a progeny, 
whose industry turned the sterile New England rocks into gar- 
dens, and into communities, where language, education, litera- 
ture, science, art, mechanics, and manufactures, made unparalleled 
strides. A chivalric colony, headed by a warrior, explorer and 
geographer, landed about the same time in a more fertile region, 
where his life was saved by a gentle Indian princess, after he had 
earned laurels against the Turks. You already think of Poca- 
hontas and Captain John Smith, who explored and mapped 
Chesapeake Bay and the coast of New England, from 1608 to 
1614, wrote "General History of Virginia, New England, and 
the Summer Isles" (Bermudas), 1627, and "True Travels and 
Adventures of Captain John Smith in Europe, Asia, Africa, and 
America," 1630. As young and old know the touching story 
of Pocahontas and Captain Smith, and as art has so skilfully 
portrayed it, we attempt no narration thereof. We should be 
remiss in omitting here the author and martyr, who penned 
" Great Case of Liberty of Conscience Debated and Defended," 
1671 ; "Spirit of Truth Vindicated," 1672 ; "England's Present 
Interest Considered," 1674, &c, and founded an American 
colony (1682), that did honor to human nature — namely, William 
Penri) whose name is so felicitously affixed to the Latin root 
sylvia, which, older than Rome, found a new application in 
the Western Hemisphere. The capital of Pennsylva?iia was 
another mark of rare linguistic choice in the term Philadelphia 
(</><Aos, friend, and SeA.<£o?, brother). Of this most peaceful 
colony, and Penn's treaty with the Indians, the astute Voltaire 
says : " The only league between, the Aborgines and Christians 
that was never sworn to and never broken." Roger Williams, 



406 English Period, A.D. 1600- 187 8. 

banished from Massachusetts for preaching liberal doctrines, went 
among the Narraganset Indians, who received him hospitably, 
1636, and became the founder of the colony of Rhode Island. 
He wrote a Treatise against Persecution and " Experiments on 
Spiritual Health." Thus the Protestants of the New World only 
banished and did not burn their victim, as the Calvinists did 
Servetus, which was a decided improvement on the old-fashioned 
way of punishing heretics. 

The seventeenth century is distinguished for literary achieve- 
ments: the translation of the Scriptures, 1611, by order of the 
British Government, appointing the ablest divines and scholars 
to perform that important work. It was begun, 1607, and com- 
pleted, 161 1, under James I. The main text was originally in 
"black letter" while the headings of the chapters, and expletives 
in the text, were in Roman character. It was truly the largest 
literary undertaking at that date in England. Strange, King James 
allowed a tax to be levied on each Bible ! Haydon's "Dictionary 
of Dates and Uftiversal References " says the Bible contains 
7 73> 746 words, which our strict analysis enables us to divide and 
approximate thus : about one-half are mere particles, or words 
without inherent meaning, among which the occurs about 115,768 
times ; and 96,718 times ; the pronoun of the third person, 24,055 
times; in 14,654; that 11,685 times; to 10,258 times; of 8,792 
times \ from 7,327 times; be, auxiliary, about 1,465 times, &c. 
A large proportion of the other half are proper names and repe- 
titions of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and qualificative adverbs, 
which, if deducted, will leave but a small number of words of in- 
herent meaning. As commentators, divines, and especially the 
translators of the new version, are particularly interested in this 
matter, the English-speaking populations may look to them for a 
Bible in unison with the present standard of science, art, and 
literature. Surely, seven-tenths of the 96,718 and might be 
dropped without impairing the text in any way ; also the quan- 
tities of the, that, to, &c, might be considerably reduced, being 
in many instances mere expletives. By such pruning and weed- 
ing of particles, the Bible would not only become clearer and 
shorter, but more direct and forcible. Our Extract and numeric 
Table from an early copy of t^e James' version will fully show 
its style and vocabulary. 



Seventeenth Century. 407 

As the Scriptures were translated under Athelstan, A.D. 925- 
941, and James L, 161 1, and are now being revised under Vic- 
toria, 1878, these sovereigns may be styled Scriptural par excel- 
lence. Speaking of the James' version in his " Standard English," 
P- 3°3> Oliphant says : " The Koran alone can boast an equal 
share of reverence, spread far and wide." When we consider 
that eighty-four Bible societies and agencies distributed ito,ooo,- 
000 Bibles from 1804 to 1873, and that at least twice that num- 
ber was issued besides, we must doubt the writer's statement, 
that the Koran can boast " an equal share of reverence spread 
far and wide" till it is confirmed by approximate figures. 

In 1623 appeared a complete edition of Shakespeare's writings. 
It was the earliest important English work printed entirely in 
the clear, distinct Roman type, and not in the angular Gothic 
black letter. We hope our Extract and Table.from that edition, 
of which there is a copy in the Astor Library, will prove inter- 
esting to readers. 

April 23,1564, saw William Shakespeare's birth; April 23, 
1616, witnessed his death at the premature age of fifty-two. He 
was a favorite of Queen Elizabeth and of James I. Sam Johnson 
says : 

" The merit of Shakespeare is such as the ignorant can take in, and the 
learned add nothing to." 

As the writings on Shakespeare by English and American 
biographers, critics and essayists would make a small library, we 
shall only mention some of the foreign writers on the immortal 
bard of Stratford-on-Avon. Wieland translated and issued 
Shakespeare's Dramas from 1762 to 1766, in eight volumes. 
Lessing, in his "Dramaturgic" says : 

" Of all poets, perhaps, Shakespeare alone has portrayed the mental dis- 
eases, melancholy, delirium, lunacy, with such wonderful, and in every re- 
spect definite truth, that the physician may enrich his observations from them 
in the same manner as from real cases." 

Eschenburg gave to Germany "Ueber IV. Shakespeare" a 
translation of Shakespeare's dramas in fourteen volumes. In 
his lectures on "Dramatic Art and Literature," 1815, Schlegel 
observes : 



4o8 English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 

" Never, perhaps, was there so comprehensive a talent for the delineation 
of character as Shakespeare's. It not only grasps the diversities of rank, sex 
and age, down to the dawnings of infancy ; not only do the king and the 
beggar, the hero and the pickpocket, the sage and the idiot, speak and act 
with equal truth, but he opens the gates of the magic world of spirits, calls 
up the midnight ghost, peoples the air with sportive fancies and sylphs ; and 
these beings, existing only in the imagination, possess such truth and con- 
sistency that, even when deformed monsters like Caliban, he extorts the con- 
viction that, if there should be such beings, they would so conduct them- 
selves." 

Elsewhere he says : 

" If Shakespeare deserves our admiration for his characters, he is equally 
deserving of it for his exhibition of passion, taking this word in its widest 
sense, as including every mental condition, every tone, from indifference or 
familiar mirth to the wildest rage and despair." 

After this exhaustive and masterly criticism, we cannot help 
citing Byron's : 

" Shakespeare and Milton have had their rise, and they will have their fall." 

Could Byron, who was ever at war with himself and the world, 
but visit New York Central Park and gaze at Shakespeare's 
splendid statue, he would surely be agreeably disappointed ; for 
he must by this time be at peace with himself and the universe. 
No doubt, similar monuments will arise wherever there is an 
English-speaking population. For the world never can bestow 
too much on a character, of whom his cotemporary and rival, 
Ben Jonson, wrote these lines : 

" I loved the man and do honor his memory — on this side idolatry. He 
was indeed honest and of an excellent fancy and gentle expressions." 

Franz Horn's "Shakespeare's Schauspiele erlaut 'ert 11 (Shake- 
speare's Dramas illustrated), in five volumes, 1822-1831. Ger- 
vinus' "Shakespeare" in four volumes, 1849-1850. Delius' 
" My thus von W. Shakespeare 11 (Myth of W. Shakespeare), 185 1. 
Such were some of Germany's Shakespearian admirers. Guizot's 
"Shakespeare et son Temps 11 185 1. Chasle's "Etudes sur Shake- 
speare 11 1832. Victor Hugo's "William Shakespeare 11 1864. 
Hagberg's "Shakespeare och Skaldema,'' 1 in Swedish, 1848. All 
these works show how universal has been the admiration for 



Seventeetith Century. 409 

Shakespeare. Not only England, but Spain lost her greatest 
bard, April 23, 16 16 : on that day Shakespere died aged fifty- 
two years ; on the same day died Cervantes, aged sixty-nine. 
Was this accident, chance, or magnetism ? When we read Shake- 
speare's glowing pages, we ask : could a man of ordinary birth, 
with few, if any, educational advantages, have conceived and 
written dramatic scenes, that interest high and low, learned and 
ignorant? But, when we consider his features, character and the 
circumstances of his life and death, as transmitted by cotempora- 
ries, suspicion and doubt vanish like mist before a genial sun ; we 
realize that his physical, mental and moral qualities blend into a 
consistent whole, and we begin to admire the man as much as 
his writings. We attribute the uninterrupted favor and success 
of Shakespeare's dramas to his mingling spiritual entities with his 
dramatis persona ; it required a master-hand to do it, a delicate 
and skillful touch. 

Say what we will, spurn as we may the idea of intercourse be- 
tween beings of Earth and of the spheres; call it superstition, if 
you please — yet the traditions, records, teachings, sermons and 
performances, that contain most of it, have ever been most read, 
studied, listened to and admired ; witness Bible, Vedas, Zenda- 
vesta, Orpheus' descent to Hades for Euridice, Eneas in Elysium, 
Numa's Egeria, Socrates' Demon, Lucian's "Dialogues between 
the Dead," Koran, Dante's "Divina Comedia" Milton's "Para- 
dise Lost" Fenelon's "Dialogues of the Dead," Klopstock's 
"Messaiah and Cidli" Wieland's "Letters from the Dead to their 
Friends" Goethe's "Faust" "Ahnen Frau," " Corsican Broth- 
ers" Fontenelle's "Dialogues of the Dead" &c. Even the wild 
spirit entities of the Edda enriched the English language and 
literature with the glowing pages of Carlyle. 

It is said Shakespeare appropriated ideas from predecessors 
and cotemporaries. True, he derived King Lear from Layamon's 
"Brut"— "All's Well that Ends Well" from Boccaccio's "De- 
cameronT Even his conception of Hamlet may be from some 
old Scandinavian lay; but what of that ? The treatment of the 
subjects was all his own. To question Shakespeare's authorship, 
because he had no classical education, seems unwarranted ; 
especially, when the original folio volume of 1623 contains these 
lines by his cotemporary, Ben Jonson : 



410 English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 

" To draw no envy, Shakespeare, on thy name, 
Am I thus ample to thy book and fame ; 
While I confess thy writings to be such 
As neither Man nor Muse can praise too much." 

Had there been the least suspicion of the kind, would Jonson, 
who died 1637, have allowed the above to be printed in 1623 ? 
would his numerous other cotemporary celebrities : Sir Walter 
Raleigh, Beaumont, and especially his patron the Earl of South- 
ampton, to whom he dedicated his "Venus and Adonis" have 
ignored such a deception ? would it not have reached the ears 
of his royal admirers, Queen Elizabeth and King James I. ? 
Furthermore, to attribute Shakespeare's writings to Lord Bacon 
(as has recently been done) seems absurd. Pope styles Bacon : 

" The wisest, brightest, meanest of mankind." 

He could no more have written "Hamlet" "Winter's Tale" 
" King Lear" &c, than Shakespeare could have written "Novum 
Organum" 

In the Shakespearian likenesses transmitted to us, we realize 
that not only anatomy, physiology, but phrenology and psychology 
did their utmost to produce a typal man. Study every lineament ; 
all express gentleness, refinement, and equipoise. Nature ex- 
hausted her resources for a cycle in casting the mould of William 
Shakespeare, who might soliloquize thus : I point to no line of 
ancestry, no Oxford degree, no fortunate circumstances ; I am 
Nature's pupil ; the causes and circumstances that developed my 
being, and the fount from which flowed my knowledge, are as 
mysterious and inscrutable as those that evolved the universe. 
Yet I feel I am but the microcosm in the macrocosm. 

After mentioning native and foreign Shakespearian critics and 
admirers, it would be ungallant not to cite the gentlest and most 
persevering, Mrs. Cowden Clarke, to whom we but alluded in 
the opening of this book. She not only scanned and studied the 
bard's sublime conceptions, ideas, thoughts, humor, and wit, but 
his vocabulary, which she counted and found to be " 15,000 
words." Woman alone is capable of such patience, detail, and 
minuteness. 

As Ben. Jonson was Shakespeare's friend and rival, it is but just 
we should mention some of his dramas, the most popular of which 



Seventeenth Ce7it?<ry. 41 1 

were "Sejanus" 1603; "Alchemist" 1610 ; Catilina, 161 1, &c. 
He was Poet-Laureate to James I., and died, 1637. Of him Dr. 
Johnson says : 

" Then Jonson came, instructed from the school, 
To please in method, and instruct by rule ; 
His studious patience and laborious art, 
By regular approach essay'd the heart." 

Jonson's "Sejanus" shows a vocabulary of thirty per cent. 
Greco-Latin, sixty-nine Gotho-Germanic, and one Celtic. 

While the dawn of this enlightened era smiled upon Shake- 
speare and Jonson, it also beheld the remarkably united bards 
Beaumont and Fletcher, who, in happy conceit and union, wrote 
fourteen volumes of superior dramas, comedies, poems, and 
essays, among which figure " The Coxcomb," " The Maid' 's Tra- 
gedy" " Cupid'' 's Revenge" &c. Such an intermarriage of 
thought, ideas, sentiment, and expression is unique in the literary 
world. What a pity such mental accord is the exception and not 
the rule ! Of this rare duo Hazlitt observes : 

" They are masters of style and versification in almost every variety of 
melting modulation, of sounding pomp, of which they are capable ; in comic 
wit and spirit they are scarcely surpassed by any writers of our age." 

The following is Coleman's appropriate strain on this congenial 
couple : 

" Beaumont and Fletcher, those twin stars, that run 
Their glorious course 'round Shakespeare's golden sun." 

Beaumont and Fletcher's vocabulary in " Honest Man's For- 
tune," contains thirty-four per cent. Greco-Latin, sixty-five Gotho- 
Germanic, and one Celtic. 

How we should have liked to chance into the " Mermaid Tav- 
ern" when Shakespeare, Jonson, Beaumont, and Fletcher were 
convivially assembled there ! 

Of all literary English productions, perhaps none has been 
so widely diffused and eagerly read as "Robinson Crusoe" 17 19. 
I never can forget the day when a German and French transla- 
tion thereof reached me. I could not lay it aside till I had read 
it several times ; and even then my mind dwelled on it for weeks 



412 English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 

and months. It outlived Defoe's other 210 writings. As long 
as there are boys and girls "Robinson Crusoe" will find devoted 
readers. A passage of Defoe's "History of the Devil" yielded 
thirty-seven per cent. Greco-Latin, sixty Gotho-Germanic, two 
Celtic, and one Semitic. 

The year 1620 saw a book whose ideas changed the world's 
method of scientific research ; that book was Lord Bacon's 
"Novum Organum."* Hitherto science had been theoretic 
and speculative ; Bacon urged its being experimental, and 
founded on observation. Next followed " De Augmentis Scien- 
tiarum, Instauratio Magna, and De Sapientia Veterum" which 
treated of religion, morals, philosophy, history, and politics. 
Like many of his predecessors, Bacon wrote in poor Latin, 
though his native tongue had supplied Chaucer, Spenser, and 
even Shakespeare. However, had they been written in Eng- 
lish, they might not have reached foreign lands so readily. In 
1755 Deleyre wrote an analysis of Bacon's works in French. 
Lassalle translated them all into French, 1800, and Bouillet, 1835, 
which shows how his ideas were appreciated abroad. Dryden 
rhymes the world's indebtedness to his great countryman thus : 

" The world to Bacon does not only owe 
Its present knowledge, but its future too." 

As Macaulay's " Essay 011 Lord Bacon " is considered a master- 
piece, we refer readers to it. 

In 1639 appeared Burton's "Anatomy of Melancholy," of 
which Dr. Johnson says : " It is the only book that ever took 
me out of bed two hours before I wished to rise." As Locke's 
"Essay on the Human Understanding," A.D. 1690, started a 
somewhat new departure in philosophy, it deserves an honorary 
mention in a linguistic point of view, furnishing, as it does, new 
terms and changes of meaning in words and phraseology. So 
does Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress" (1678), of which Macaulay 
says : 

" Bunyan had no suspicion that he was producing a masterpiece. He could 



* It is said "Novum Organum" contains words, thoughts, ideas, and 
passages of Roger Bacon's "Opus Majus," which was written, 1265, and 
first printed 1733. Hence, Lord Bacon must have read "Opus Majus" in 
manuscript. 



Seventeenth Century. 413 

not guess what place his allegory would occupy in English literature ; for of 
English literature he knew nothing. During the latter part of the seven- 
teenth century there were only two great creative minds : one produced 
" Paradise Lost," the other " Pilgrim's Progress." 

The medical world was startled by Harvey's grand discovery, 
entitled " Exercitationes de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis" (Essays 
on the Motion of the Heart and Blood), 1628, which eminent 
physicians at home and abroad opposed as long as they could, 
and then claimed the discovery for Nemesius, Fabricius, Co- 
lumbo, Cesalpino, and others. As previously stated, Nemesius, 
Bishop of Syria in the fifth century, alludes to the circulation of 
the blood in his 7repl </>useoos dvOpu-irov. It would be curious to 
know whether Harvey ever read that book? England's Escu- 
lapius also wrote u De Generatione Animalium " (On the Gene- 
ration of Animals), in which he maintains that every animal is 
produced from an egg. 

Medicine needs another Harvey to discover the nature of the 
mysterious fluid that glides along the nerves, causing pleasurable 
or painful sensations, health or disease, which would advance 
the healing art more than all the medical discoveries yet made, 
because it is to life what the imponderables, heat, light, mag- 
netism, and electricity are to the universe. 

Milton's "Paradise Lost," 1668, of whose style G. P. Marsh, 
in his "Lectures on the Eiiglish Language^ observes : 

" The relation between Milton's entire verbal resources and his habitual 
economy in the use of them is most remarkable, &c. . . . Most of the 
foreign words employed by him are found in a single passage, whereas the 
Saxon words are very many times repeated. Nor is the predominance of 
such to be ascribed to the number of particles or other small words ; for of 
them Milton is very sparing. " 

Our numeric analysis fully corroborates this statement ; for 
we find him the most concise and tersest of the many English 
writers we examined. The Bible-and-Miltonian-style are ex- 
tremes, as may be seen by our Tables : It requires 531 common 
words from the Bible to obtain 100 different words, whereas 130 
common words from Milton furnish 100 different words. Hence, 
there are 431 repetitions in the Extract from the Bible, and only 
thirty in that from Milton ; yet the ratio of particles is about the 



414 English Period, A.D. I 600-1 878. 

same in both Extracts, namely, one-half; all our other Extracts 
and Tables range between those from the Bible and Milton as 
to the number of common words. Milton, like Shakespeare, 
had one careful reader and patient admirer, who ascertained that 
his vocabulary consisted of 8,000 words. 

We must not omit to mention that Milton visited Galileo dur- 
ing his confinement by the Inquisition. That the author of 
" Paradise Lost " and the observer of the isochronism of the 
vibrations of the pendulum, the champion of the Copernican sys- 
tem, greeted each other on the banks of the Arno in 1638, is 
an event to be remembered in the annals of poetry and science. 

England saw a prodigy in Jeremiah Horrox, who was born in 
a country village, 16 19, graduated at Cambridge, took orders, 
and became curate of Hoole ; but, finding the ministry too nar- 
row a field for his expansive mind, he flew to astronomy and 
wrote the " True Theory of Lunar Motion." Next he pondered 
over Kepler's Tables, constructed on Tycho Brahe's observa- 
tions, and found that the transit of Venus, marked for 1631, 
would not occur till 1639. December 4, 1639, ne na -d the good 
fortune to behold Venus' transit, which no mortal had seen be- 
fore ; then he penned his " Venus sub Sole visa," and died 1641, 
at the tender age of twenty-two. Was there ever a career so 
rapid, so rich in events, so wonderful ? A university graduation, 
ministry, astronomic achievements, discovery and description of 
the rarest celestial phenomenon, all within twenty-two years, 
seem like Tupper's " Millennium in a moment." Thus a life of 
one score and two set in motion, not only the world's astrono- 
mers, telescopes, and observatories, but its governments and 
navies, as witnessed at the transit of Venus in 1875 ; because 
the successful observation of this phenomenon could furnish 
data to ascertain the magnitudes and masses of all the planets, 
the real dimensions of their orbits, their rates of motion round 
the sun, their respective distances from the sun and from each 
other, all of which might ultimate into a universal standard of 
astronomic measure. What a pity such a life was cut so short ! 
However, a being that flashed thus meteor-like across the horizon, 
does exalt human nature ; for of him we may truly say : Horrox 
" walked with God, and he was not ; for God took him." Horrox 
gave a decided impetus to astronomy in England; for Flamsteed 



Seventeenth Century. . 415 

was appointed Royal Astronomer by Charles II., 1675, an ^ 
Greenwich Observatory was completed 1676. Hipparchus cata- 
logued one thousand and eighty stars, 150 B.C. ; Fiamsteed 
determined the position of two thousand eight hundred and 
eighty-two, the result of which was published in a work entitled 
"Ifistoria Ccelestis" 1725. Thus did England vie with ancient 
Greece in the sublime science of the Heavens. 

The pioneer authoress, Aphra Behn, opened the vista of female 
thought in English literature. Her writings are called free by 
gallant, and licentious by ungallant critics. Besides seventeen 
dramas, she wrote poems, songs, tales, and novels. She trans- 
lated Fontanelle's " Histoire des Oracles and de la Pluralite des 
Mondes," and Bonnecore's " Montre d' Amour," so much ridi- 
culed by Boileau. "CEnone's Letter to Paris" was paraphrased 
by her on the Latin of Ovid. She was daughter of a Mr. John- 
son, who, on his way to America, as Governor of Surinam, died. 
His family remained some time in that colony, where Aphra 
Behn became acquainted with Oroonoko, whose history she 
wrote, entitled ''Oroonoko, the American Prince," which is con- 
sidered her chef-d'oeuvre. She read it to Charles II. Laplace 
translated it from the- eighth English edition. This talented 
daughter of England has been a target for jealous critics, whose 
venom seems to be spent ; for her works were re-issued in six 
octavo volumes, with her likeness, London, 1871. On the title- 
page we read "The Famous Aphra Behn" an appellation given 
her by cotemporaries. Thus posterity sooner or later appreci- 
ates intellect's nobility, whether male or female. Tardy though 
it may appear, England will yet hail Aphra Behn as her earliest 
literary female star. 

At periods of vast intellectual expansion, literati and scientists 
feel the want of easier and more direct intercourse between indi- 
viduals, nations, and races ; hence the idea of a universal alpha- 
bet and language became a favorite theme : Leibnitz advocated 
it, and Bishop Wilkins wrote his "Essay towards a Real Charac- 
ter and a Pliilosophic Language" 1668, which was a step in the 
right direction, for the benefits resulting therefrom are beyond 
computation. But Leibnitz, Wilkins, and their admirers little 
dreamt that a universal alphabet and language must be of slow 
and gradual growth ; because they must contain the very cream 



41 6 English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 

and essence of previous alphabets, dialects, and languages. 
Could they have anticipated that the universal alphabet had its 
origin in the Etruscan letters adopted by Rome, and that the 
English language was then adopting and assimilating the choicest 
terms from the most refined idioms, they would have used their 
influence in favor of the Roman alphabet and English language, 
which, in spite of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, have since 
spread over the globe. 

The Roman alphabet, with its simple, rounded, and sightly 
letters, is now known and used by the American, Oceanic, most 
of the European, many of the Asiatic, and some of the African 
nations ; and even the Japanese are disposed to adopt it ; hence 
we may fairly say that about one-half of the thirteen hundred 
millions of Earth's inhabitants know and use the Roman alpha- 
bet ; that ninety millions speak English ; and that two hundred 
aud seventy-four millions are governed by the English language. 

Men, who advocate the introduction of a philosophic alphabet 
and language should consider, that such an introduction would 
interfere with our present system of reading, writing, printing, 
and education ; render our archives, books, and libraries useless ; 
and destroy millions of property in the shape of type and printing 
apparatus, to say nothing of business signs and inscriptions on 
public and private buildings. Why, as soon as practical people 
hear of such a change, they pronounce it impossible ; and there 
the matter ends and progress stops. Hence all we can do, with 
hope of ultimate success, is to spread the Roman alphabet and 
English language, and speed them on their triumphant mission. 
The Roman alphabet with a start of twenty-six centuries, and the 
English language with a start of twelve, are more likely to win 
than new corners. 

We may dream of a philosophic character and language ; but we 
must not overlook that there are and must be vocal, auditive, pho- 
netic and linguistic laws and correspondences, which are as immu- 
table as the laws that control man's other physical and mental 
capacities. Language involves not only voice, ear, and eye, but 
telegraphic conditions, as recently revealed by Bell's telephone and 
Edison's phonograph. We may devise mechanical contrivances 
to transmit vocal vibrations ; but nature's vehicle and receptacle 
will ever be the same ; hence, language must continue in the 



Seventeenth Century. 417 

domain in which it originated and developed ; and we can no 
more lay aside, change or modify primitive linguistic elements, 
roots, and correspondences, than we can alter the laws and capa- 
cities that determine and regulate their production, conveyance, 
and interchange. 

This age was not only noted for literature and science, but for 
inventions : Edward Somerset, Marquis of Worcester, constructed 
a machine he styled " water-e7igine." In 1663 Parliament passed 
an act granting to the inventor the benefit of " a water-command- 
ing engine," which has been considered as the first steam-engine. 
The Marquis had an inventive genius, as may be realized by his 
curious book, entitled " Century of the Names and Scantlings of 
Inventions." This was one of the first books that enriched Eng- 
land's language with a vocabulary of mechanical terms. Like all 
men in advance of their age, Worcester was considered as vision- 
ary by his cotemporaries. Could he have had the most remote 
idea how his water-engine would revolutionize the world within 
two hundred years ? 

The great fire in London, 1666, gave quite an impetus to 
architecture : Sir Christopher Wren was England's great architect. 
The Royal Exchange, Temple Bar, Greenwich Observatory, &c, 
were erected by him ; but his masterpiece was St. Paul's Cathe- 
dral, started 1675, an d completed 1710. It is not a chaste 
Gothic model like the Cathedral of Salisbury or " Sainte Chapelle" 
of Paris ; but it vies with most structures of its kind. After seeing 
Strasburg's wonder, St. Stephens of Vienna, Notre Dame of Paris, 
we were struck by St. Paul's cupola, which alone should immor- 
talize Wren's name. On that occasion the English language was 
enriched with Greek, Latin, and Medieval architectural terms, 
borrowed from the pioneers, Raphael and Michael Angelo. 
Sir Christopher Wren was buried in St. Paul's with this inscrip- 
tion : "Reader, if thou seekest his monument, look round." 

Only in this age of universal progress, Anglo-Saxon, which had 
been neglected from 1154 to 1659, began to be appreciated by 
modern scholars like Somner and Hickes : the former wrote an 
Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 1659; tae latter issued "Institutes of 
Anglo-Saxon and Mceso-Gothic Grammar," 1689, which awakened 
quite an interest in England's mother tongue and attracted many 
votaries. 



4i 8 English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 

The "Bill of Rights" presented by the English Parliament to 
the Prince and Princess of Orange, February 13, 1688, was the 
most important document enacted since Magna Charta, A.D. 
1 2 15. Codes and constitutions are efforts to utter a nation's 
thoughts and ideas in as clear, distinct, and forcible language as 
possible, showing her intellectual and moral progress, and ex- 
pressing her present and future wants. Hence they are the fittest 
representatives of that nation's linguistic and social status. As 
readers find an Extract therefrom among our Tables, we forego 
any further detail, except to state that its style required sixty- 
three per cent. Greco-Latin and thirty-six per cent. Gotho-Ger- 
manic words ; whereas Shakespeare's Hamlet needed thirty-three 
per cent. Greco-Latin and sixty-two per cent. Gotho-Germanic, 
which clearly proves that jurisprudence necessitates more Greco- 
Latin than the drama. 

As Archbishop Tillotson was the representative divine and 
preacher of the seventeenth century, we took an Extract from 
his sermons, as may be seen among our " Tables." Of him Miss 
Lucy Aikin observes : 

" This prelate was, perhaps, the first of our great preachers, whose diction 
was sufficiently free from Latinisms and scholastic terms to serve as a general 
model." 

When the authoress of "Memoir and Life of Joseph Addison " 
penned this sentence, she little thought that Tillotson' s diction 
and writings averaged about forty-seven per cent. Greco-Latin 
words of inherent meaning, and fifty-three per cent. Gotho-Ger- 
manic words, of which twenty-four are mere particles, leaving but 
twenty- nine per cent. Gotho-Germanic or Anglo-Saxon words of 
inherent meaning. Hence, he uses nearly twice as many Latin 
as Gotho-Germanic expressions of inherent meaning. Thus do 
appearances deceive, while close mathematical research unde- 
ceives. 

Bishop Burnet, than whom there is no better or franker judge, 
styles Tillotson : 

" A man of a clear head and a sweet temper. He had the brightest thoughts 
and the most correct style of all our divines ; and was esteemed the best 
preacher of the age." 

Such men ennoble the pulpit, which has ever been a teacher, 



Seven teen th Centu ry. 4 1 9 

promoter and diffuser of language among all nations ; formerly 
priesthoods shrouded themselves in mysteries and symbols to 
conceal ideas; the Jews would not even utter the name of 
Jehovah ; the Egyptians used hieroglyphics ; the Greeks had 
Eleusinian mysteries; the Hindus have a Trinity and mysteries ; 
so have the Roman Catholics ; Protestants threw off part of the 
mask and became liberal in their language and preaching, and 
tolerant in their opinions ; they realized the significant injunction 
"Man shall not live by bread alone /" they blended in their ser- 
mons intellectual and moral food, which made their preaching 
more practical and more attractive ; even science found its way 
into Protestant pulpits, especially in America, where sermons 
became intellectually, morally, and scientifically edifying. The 
Roman Catholics have been forced into more liberal preaching 
by Protestant example ; but there is still room for improvement in 
Germany, England, and even in America. There is yet great un- 
willingness to allow unbiased thinkers to express candid opinions 
on great fundamental topics ; The Creation has occupied the 
human mind more than any other subject : Moses' account in 
Genesis has not silenced inquiry; for whether we look at the 
starry Heavens, or gaze upon the myriads of animate and inani- 
mate creatures on our planet, the question, How did all this come 
about? forces itself upon the mind. As this idea occurs irre- 
sistibly to the child, the adult, and the aged, in some form or 
other, let us evoke the noble host of thinkers of by-gone ages and 
nations, and let us consider for a moment what they thought, 
said, and wrote, upon this all-absorbing subject, which forever 
has been, is, and will be, puzzling mankind. The most ancient 
philosophers admitted matter as a starting-point, and its changes 
as a consequence, depending upon its different degrees of con- 
densation. The Persian Magi looked upon fire, and the Hindus 
and Egyptians upon water as the primitive element of all things. 
Hence the Sun, Ganges, Nile, and Tiber had worshippers. Thales, 
one of the seven sages of Greece, adopted the water theory, 650 
B.C. His pupil, Anaxamenes, considered air as the basis of things. 
Anaxagoras, established the hypothesis of the Harmonomeriae, or 
homogeneous particles. B.C. 500, Pythagoras and his pupil, 
Empedocles, originated the famous theory of the four elements : 
fire, water, air, and earth, which was adopted by Aristotle and 



420 English Period, A.D. 1 600-1 878. 

prevailed for two thousand years. B.C. 440, Leucippus con- 
sidered minute atoms diffused in space, and differing in form and 
substance, as the essence of all bodies. This theory was further 
developed by Democritus and Epicurus. According to Plato, 
pupil of Socrates, all visible objects are but so many manifesta- 
tions of the Deity. The Roman sages and the Fathers of the 
Church fluctuated between the Pythagorean and Platonic ideas 
as to the world's origin. As previously stated, Nemesius, Bishop 
of Emesa, in Syria, wrote a "Development Theory," in which he 
shows the whole of Creation as a gradual series of phenomena 
from the rock up to man. In this genesis he considers the mag- 
net, which attracts iron for its nourishment, as the transition from 
the mineral to the vegetable kingdom, and the zoophytes as the 
transition from the vegetable to the animal kingdom. This idea 
seems to be endorsed by Christ's declaration : " God is able from 
these stones to raise up children unto Abraham." The four-ele- 
ment theory ruled philosophy to the seventeenth century, when 
Descartes looked upon matter as consisting of atoms that were 
set in motion by " vortices " proceeding from God, the source of 
all motion. Pascal, Malebranche, and Spinosa espoused this 
theory. According to Leibnitz, 1680, monads constitute the 
basis of the universe. These monads, when regarded as spiritual 
entities, must be looked upon as imaginary forces. From the 
monads each force has its fixed destination. The principal sup- 
porters of the monadic system are Wolf and Madame Duchatelet. 
The learned Jesuit, Boscovich, rejected the atomic theory, and 
claimed that matter consists of physical points, which possess only 
attraction and repulsion. These points form around themselves 
spheres of unequal expansion, by which they effect their union 
with differently constituted bodies, and penetrate each other in 
various ways. The practical naturalists, Hawksbee, S'Grave- 
sende, Muschenbrack, De Saguliers, De Luc, &c, advocated the 
Newtonian theory, while Michel, Priestley, Robinson, &c, de- 
clared themselves for Boscovich. 

Sir William Herschel inaugurated the nebular theory, accord- 
ing to which comets, planets, suns, and stars have been, are, and 
will be evolving and forming forever. This theory has numerous 
adherents, because geology seems to endorse it. Kant saw two 
counteracting forces in matter : the force of thought and the 



Seventeenth Century. 421 

force of attraction, all whose predicates may be attributed to 
motion. The Kantian philosophy, sometimes called transcen- 
dentalism, has had, and still has many warm defenders. Cuvier, 
Humboldt, Comte, Darwin, &c, have lately modified former cos- 
mogonies to suit their learned works ; but as their ideas enter 
into and partake of those of their predecessors, we forego further 
detail. These systems opened a rich source of thought, language, 
and literature ; yet their authors were called infidels and atheists. 
Men of science never have been and never can be atheists, 
infidels, or bad men. Aristotles, Roger Bacons, Newtons, La- 
places, Humboldts, Agassiz, &c, have been " the salt of the earth " 
and mankind's crowning glory. Had theologians translated the 
Hebrew iom* by period instead of day, then science and the 
Mosaic Record would have agreed and endorsed each other, 
and divines and scientists could have gone hand in hand and 
" looked through Nature up to Nature's God." How much con- 
troversy and uncharitableness might have been avoided, if this 
error of translators had been corrected in the James' version, 
A.D. 1611 ! 

This prolific age produced some institutions that greatly honor 
England and France : The " Royal Society of London" founded 
under Charles II., 1662, and the French "Academy of Sciences" 
under Louis XIV., 1666. They have ever since promoted 
literature, science, art, mechanics, manufactures, and with them 
language. They have been, are, and will be fostering great 
thinkers by telling them, "Well done, good and faithful servant." 
When men have achieved something of importance in any de- 
partment of human progress, they like to hear the cheering voice 
of their fellow-men. Wherever you find an Englishman or a 
Frenchman, who has distinguished himself in the domain of 
science, literature, or art, you will soon be made aware, that he 
was a Fellow of the Royal Society of England, or member of the 
Academy of Sciences of France. Countries which thus honor 
and reward merit, talent, and genius, deserve the name great. 
We see with delight the Smithsonian Institute in the young 



* The Hebrew word iom means day, period, epoch, era. The translators 
used day, which readers and commentators considered of twenty-four hours, 
instead of a period of hundreds or thousands of years. 



422 English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 

Western Republic; it argues well for her future. Wherever 
civilization spreads, such institutions become the rule. Sweden, 
Denmark, Germany, Italy, Spain, Holland, and Russia have 
academies, that but imitate ancient Greece. The Turks alone 
seem not to favor such institutions ; therefore we need not won- 
der, that science and art have been at a low ebb at Constanti- 
nople since 1453. 

Robert Boyle was one of the founders of the Royal Society, 
of which he was elected President, 1680, but refused the honor. 
This savant devoted his life exclusively to the study of Nature's 
arcana, and ever declined office or distinction of any kind. 
While improving Guericke's air-pump, he discovered the law of 
the air's elasticity, namely, that its bulk is inversely as the pres- 
sure. Behold what Holland's greatest physician, Boerhaave, 
says of him : 

" Mr. Boyle, the ornament of his age and country, succeeded to the genius 
and talents of Lord Verulam. We owe to him the secrets of fire, air, water, 
animals, plants, and fossils." 

Butler's famous satire, styled " Hudibras" took England by 
surprise, 1663. Of it Hallam says: 

" Hudibras was incomparably more popular than Paradise Lost. No poem 
in our language rose at once to greater reputation." 

We find its vocabulary numbers thirty-six per cent. Greco- 
Latin, sixty-two Gotho-Germanic, and two Celtic. As it was 
but a satire on persecuted men, women, and children, we can- 
not admire it. Sir Thomas Browne's "Religio Medici," 1642, 
is, according to Dr. Johnson, " one of the most beautiful prose 
poems in the language ; its power of diction, its subtlety and 
largeness of thought, its exquisite conceits and images, have no 
parallel out of the writers of that brilliant age, when poetry and 
prose had not yet divided their domain." As we mention, in our 
bird's-eye view, his " Hydriotaphia " (treatise on urn-burial), we 
say no more of his style here. 

To the great men of this century Holland contributed Huy- 
gens, who was chosen Fellow of the Royal Society of London, 
and member of the Academy of Sciences of France. He became 
the friend of Leibnitz and Newton, who styled him " Summits 



Seventeenth Century. 423 

Hy genius." His u System of Saturn" shows the ring and satel- 
lite, which he discovered with a telescope of his own make, 1659. 
In his " Horologium Oscillatorium" dedicated to Louis XIV., 
Huygens explains the theory of the pendulum, as applied to the 
measurement of time, 1673. He wrote a treatise on the cause 
of gravity, 1690, and another on light, in which he considers 
light as moving in undulations, a theory since adopted. In his 
" Cosmotheoros " he claims that the planets are inhabited. These 
writings are full of startling ideas, requiring new scientific and 
mechanic terms, and deviations of words from their usual sense, 
to apply them to other purposes. From horologium and oscilta- 
torium were derived horology, oscillation, and other vocables. 

As we mentioned Germany's great physicist, Leibnitz, in con- 
nection with Newton, we must not omit Kepler, who discovered 
laws that revolutionized astronomic thought, ideas, and science ; 
they are known as "Kepler's Laws" and read thus : 

1. The orbits of the planets are elliptic. 

2. The radius-vector, or the line extending from a planet to the sun, de- 
scribes or passes over equal areas in equal times. 

3. The squares of the periodic times of planets are proportional to the 
cubes of their mean distances from the sun. 

Of them Sir John Herschel says : 

" These laws constitute the most important and beautiful system of geo- 
metric relations, which have ever been discovered by a mere inductive process, 
independent of any considerations of a theoretic kind. They comprise within 
them a compendium of the motions of all the planets, and enable us to assign 
their places in their orbits at any instant of time past or to come." 

No wonder England's ambassador, Sir Henry Wotton, visited 
the German savant, and invited him to England ; Kepler politely 
refused. His works are "Astronomia Nova" 1609 ; "Harmonice 
Mundi" 1610; "Rudolphin Tables? and "Dioptrical 161 1. 

Kepler's Laws leave nothing to chance. Hence, science 
founded on observation is the surest guide to all the laws that 
have, are, and will be developing the universe. 

Germany may feel proud of another of her sons : Otto von 
Guericke, inventor of the air-pump, 1651, which gave rise to the 
vast science called "Pneumatics,'" engaged the attention of Gali- 
leo and Torricelli in Italy, Pascal, Pieri and Mariotte in France, 



424 English Period, A.D. I 600-1 878. 

Boyle in England, changed and dissipated the ancient idea of air 
being an element. It added to English and other European lan- 
guages a long vocabulary, connected with gases, vapors, steam, 
and the terms pneumatology, pneumonia, barometer, atmosphere, 
&c. While other scientists thus looked beyond mother Earth 
and scanned the heavenly hosts, Sir Isaac Newton considered 
matter as composed of " corpusculaz" (small particles), which are 
expansive, impenetrable and inert in themselves, but yet attract 
each other- collectively. This theory is explained in his treatise, 
entitled "Be Motu" (On Motion), 1685, and in "Principle*" 
(Principles), 1686, which Laplace styles "pre-eminent above all 
other productions of the human intellect." It involves the theory 
of universal gravitation, thus epitomized by Sir David Brewster : 

" Every particle of matter in the universe is attracted, or gravitates to 
every other particle of matter, with a force inversely proportional to the 
squares of their distances." 

In his "Lectiofies Opticoz" (Lectures on Optics), delivered at 
Cambridge from 1669 to 1671, the great English scientist proved 
to his eager listeners that light is not homogeneous, bid consists 
of rays of -different refrangibility. Of this sublime discovery 
Sir John Herschel says : 

" The theory of Newton gives a complete and elegant explanation of what 
may be considered the chief of all optical facts— the production of colors in 
the ordinary refraction of light by a prism, the discovery of which by him 
marks one of the greatest epochs in the annals of experimental science." 

After such eulogy from Laplace and Sir John Herschel, Pope's 

" Nature and Nature's laws lay hid in night : 
God said, let Newton be ! and all was light " — 

will be the "ne plus ultra." 

Newton had probably read " Opus Majus " written by his 
illustrious countryman, Roger Bacon, 1265, and had realized what 
the inquisitive monk said about light and human vision. Could 
Bacon have imagined, that four centuries thereafter Newton 
would find hearers on the properties of light at Cambridge ? 
Could Bacon or Newton have dreamt, that from 1265 to 1878 
their discoveries would develop new sciences, arts, mechanics, 
and enrich language and literature ? 



Seventeenth Century. 425 

Milton's nephew and pupil, Phillips, in his " Theatrum Poeta- 
rum" 1675, complains thus of an influx of gallicisms : 

" I cannot but look upon it as a very pleasant humor, that we should be so 
compleasant with the French custom, as to follow set fashions, not only in 
garments, but in music and poetry." 

The English poetess. Catharine Philips, translated Corneille's 
tragedy of "Pompey" into English, about 1667, and was styled 
the "Matchless Orinda" by her admirers; hers probably was 
some of the "French poetry" Phillips alluded to. France had 
her Augustan Era under Louis XIV. ; we must therefore glance 
at the array of French intellectual development that so influenced 
England's taste, language and literature in the seventeenth cen- 
tury. As French criticism might seem one-sided, let English 
writers tell us the merits of those productions : The most erudite 
of English literati, Hallam, says of Corneille's "Po/yeucte" : It is 
the noblest perhaps on the French stage, and conceived with 
admirable delicacy and dignity." Of Racine he observes : " I 
think him next to Shakespeare among all the moderns. No 
tragedy of Euripides is so skillful or perfect as i Athalie ' or 
Britannicus. The style of Racine is exquisite." Of Moliere he 
says: "In the more appropriate merits of comedy, in just and 
forcible delineation of character, skilful contrivance of circum- 
stances, and humorous dialogue, we must award him the prize. 
Shakespeare had the greater genius, but perhaps Moliere has 
written the best comedies." Of the keenest of French satirists, 
Boileau, Hallam tells us : " He is the analogue of Pope in French 
literature." Macaulay thinks Addison imitated Boileau' s style in 
the "Spectator" and "Guardian ." Of La Fontaine, whose fables 
have been translated into most of the modern languages, Hallam 
says : " The grace of the poetry, the happy inspiration, that seems 
to have dictated the turns of expression, place him in the first 
rank among fabulists." 

Of Bossuet's numerous writings, Hallam observes : " Few works 
of genius, perhaps, in the French language, are better known or 
have been more prodigally extolled." Macaulay thus eulogizes 
Pascal : 

" His intellectual powers were such as have rarely been bestowed on any of 
the children of men. The delicacy of his wit, the purity, the energy, the 



426 English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 

simplicity of his rhetoric had never been equalled, except by the great masters 
of Attic eloquence. All Europe read and admired, laughed and wept." 

Pascal excelled not only as a literatus, but as a mathematician 
and naturalist ; for to him we owe the discovery of the measure- 
ment of mountain heights with the barometer. W. T. Brande, 
F.R.S., extols Mariotte's pneumatic experiments and ascribes to 
him the important discovery, "That the volumes of gases are 
inversely as the pressures they support," which is called Mariotte's 
Law. Menage's Etymologic Dictionary of the French Language, 
1650, has been, is, and will be a standard work as long as Greco- 
Latin roots and languages are used. 

Macaulay says : 

" Vauban has during many years been regarded as the first of engineers." 

His system of Military Engineering was adopted throughout 
Europe ; from it flowed a new vocabulary into the European 
languages, which military men alone can fully appreciate. 
Tournefort's "Elements of Botany," 1694, divided into fourteen 
classes, 676 genera, and 8,846 species, with 451 figures, were quite 
an acquisition to botanic science of that day. He was Professor 
at the Royal Botanic Gardens. As Fenelon's name awakens 
reverence and admiration, we cite no criticism. His writings 
have been models ; there is probably no modern language into 
which his "Telemachus"" has not been translated. It has become 
classic in most countries. Madame de Sevigne's "Letters " rank 
as models of the epistolary style in the world's literature. Ma- 
dame Deshoulieres was styled the " Tenth Muse " by cotempo- 
rary poets ; her Poems and "Moral Reflections" have been uni- 
versally admired. Madame Guyon wrote thirty-nine octavo vol- 
umes, mostly on religious subjects. Cowper admired her writings 
and translated her autobiography into English. Madame de la 
Fayette wrote the two highly successful novels : "Zayde" and 
"Princess ofCleves" which portrayed the manners of the French 
nobility ; she has been considered by some as the pioneer of 
novel-writers. 

Towards the close of the seventeenth century Dryden immor- 
talized himself by translating Homer and Virgil into English hex- 
ameter. So did Madame Dacier distinguish herself by translating 



Seventeenth Century. 



427 



Homer, Anacreon, Aurelius, Victor, Floras and Plautus into 
French. Could any writers of that day have rendered more 
signal service to literature than by displaying to Europe the 
treasures of Greece and Rome in two advanced modern lan- 
guages ? 

The author of "Theatrum Poetarum" also complains (and no 
doubt with just cause) of a musical influx into his country from 
France : Lully, the greatest harmonist of that day, was director 
of the "Academy of Music" and the composer of nineteen suc- 
cessful operas, among which were "Cadmus," "Psyche" "Iris," 
"Temple of Peace" "Rola?id" &c, besides sacred and other 
music. It was quite natural that his musical vocabulary, sym- 
phonetic improvements, and some of his masterpieces should 
have found their way to the "beau monde" of London, notwith- 
standing the querulous protestations of such literati as Milton's 
nephew, Phillips. 

We have seen that, according to the most able English critics, 
France was a center of intellectual celebrities, some of whom 
they style superior to Plato and only second to Shakespeare. It 
would have been strange, if rays therefrom had not reached Eng- 
land and inspired such kindred minds as Pope, Addison, Catha- 
arine Philips, and a host of others. With the ideas, poetry and 
music of France came an influx of words of which the following 
are samples : 



Present French : 


Old French : 


Present English : 


chateau 


chastel 


castle and chateau 


conquete 


congjteste 


conquest 


coutume 


coustume 


custom 


consolation 


solaz 


solace 


crete 


creste 


crest 


fete 


feste 


feast 


faible 


foible 


foible 


hate 


haste 


haste 


hote 


hoste 


host 


maitre 


maistre 


master 


pate 


paste 


paste 


pature 


pasture 


pasture 


reconnaitre 


reconnoitre 


reconnoitre 


secours 


socour 


succour 


souffrir 


suffrer 


suffer 


titre 


title 


title 



428 English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 

This Table shows, that from many old French words, derived 
from Latin, unpronounced s was dropped and replaced by accents. 
As the English pronounced the s it has justly been retained by 
them. The French changed into a in such words as foible, 
reconnoitre, &c, to adapt letter to sound. The English have not 
altered the because it is phonetic. Other old French words 
underwent changes to suit modern French and modern English, 
as : solaz, feste, suffrer, &c. 

Spain had her Augustan Era in Cervantes, who, after writing 
"Don Quixote" and other popular pieces, died on the same day 
as Shakespeare, April, 16 16. The prolific Lope de Vega produced 
2,000 original dramas and died, 1635. Calderon de la Barca also 
delighted his countrymen with 500 dramas. The names of Mu- 
rillo and Velasquez suffice to honor the country and century in 
which they painted. 

Sweden's throne had a superior woman in Christina, the worthy 
daughter of Gustavus Adolphus. She desired and received a 
masculine education : Greek, Latin, Hebrew, history, and science 
were her favorite studies ; horseback riding and the chase her 
amusements. She attracted to her court such men as Descartes, 
Grotius, Salmasius, Bochart, Vossius, &c. Any talent, perse- 
cuted or neglected at home, was sure to find an appreciative 
asylum at Christina's court. In 1654, while young and bloom- 
ing, she abdicated a brilliant throne and retired to Rome. Hyper- 
critics ascribe this act to vanity, while the charitably disposed 
attribute it to magnanimity. The sagacious Voltaire says : " She 
preferred to live with men who think, rather than reign over 
men without learning or genius." Christina wrote " Memoires " 
and other works that were highly esteemed. 

Now, a retrospect of this century, so remarkable for linguistic, 
literary, and scientific progress, will not be out of place, espe- 
cially when we consider, that none of the last fourteen centuries 
shows such a galaxy of great male and female intellects : Shake- 
speare, Lord Bacon, Milton, Llarvey, Sir Isaac Newton, Aphra 
Behn, &c, in England ; Corneille, Racine, Moliere, Pascal, Bos- 
suet, Fonelon, Madame Deshoulieres, Madame Dacier, &c, in 
France ; Galiteo, Torricelli, &c, in Italy ; Leibnitz, Kepler, &c., 
in Germany; Cervantes, Lope de Vega, Calderon de la Barca, 
Mtnillo, &c.j in Spain ; Huygens, Rubens, Vandyke, &c, in 



Seventeenth Century. 429 

Holland ; Queen Christina, in Sweden. When we see such mar- 
velous intellectual development in all branches of literature, 
science, art, and mechanics in one century out of fourteen, may 
we not pertinently ask for a cause of such an intellectual phe- 
nomenon ; and when we do so, shall we ascribe it to physic or 
psychologic causes, or to both felicitously combined, as we are 
revolving and floating through interstellar spaces around some yet 
unknown central sun ? 

The royal astronomer Halley supplied the astronomic linguistic 
stream by his discoveries of the " Motion of the Fixed Stars" 
"Variations of the Magnetic Needle," "Use of the Barometer" 
"Treatise o?i the Trade Winds" and by his "Catalogue of the 
Stars in the Southern Hemisphere" to observe which he had to 
pass two years in the Island of St. Helena, 1676. 

Extracts and Tables from English Authors and Writings 
of the Seventeenth Century, showing their Style and 
the Numeric Origin of their Vocabulary : 

Bible Version, A.D. 161 1. 

Shakespeare's Works, 1623. 

Robert Burton's "Anatomy of Melancholy," 1639. 

Milton's "Paradise Lost," 1668. 

Tillotson's Sermons, 1678. 

Bill of Rights, 1688. 



430 English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 

Extract from the "Holy Bible \ first authorized Version, MDCXI. Imprinted 
at London by Robert Barker, printer to the King's most Excellent 
Maiestie, anno Dom. 1611." (Erom an original copy in black letter , 
now, 1878, in the Astor Library.) 

1. In the beginning God created the Heauen and the Earth. 

2. And the earth was without forme, and voyd, and darknesse was vpon the face of the deepe : 

and the Spirit of God mooued vpon the face of the waters. 

3. And God said, Let there be light : and there was light. 

4. And God saw the light, that it was good : and God diuided the light from the darknesse. 

5. And God called the light day, and the darknesse he called Night: and the Euening and 

the Morning were the first day. 

6. And God said; Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it diuide the 

waters from the waters. 

7. And God made the firmament, and diuided the waters, which were vnder the firmament, 

from the waters, which were aboue the firmamcut : and it was so. 

8. And God called the firmament Heauen : and the Euening and the Morning were the 

second day. 

9. And God said, Let the waters vnder the heauen be gathered together vnto one place, and 

let the dry land appeare : and it was so. 

10. And God called the dry land, Earth, and the gathering together of the waters called hee 

Seas : and God saw that it was good. 

11. And God said, Let the Earth bring foorth grasse and the herbe yeelding seed, and the 

fruit tree, yeeld fruit after his kinde, whose seed is in it selfe, vpon the earth : and it 
was so. 

12. And the earth brought foorth grasse, and herbe yeelding seed after his kinde, and the tree 

yeelding fruit, whose seed was in it selfe after his kinde : and God saw that it was good. 

13. And the Euening and the Morning were the third day. 

14. And God saide, Let there bee lights in the firmament of the heauen, to diuide the day 

from the night : and let them bee for signes and for seasons, and for dayes and yeeres. 

15. And let them bee for lights in the firmament of the heauen, to give light vpon the earth : 

and it was so. 

16. And God made two great lights : the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to 

rule the night : he made the starres also. 

17. And God set them in the firmament of the heauen, to give light vpon the earth. 

18. And to rule ouer the day, and ouer the night, and to diuide the Light from the darknesse 

and God saw that it was good. 

19. And the Euening and the Morning were the fourth day. 

20. And God saide, Let the waters bring foorth aboundantly the mouing creature that hath 

life, andfoule that may flie aboue the earth in the open firmament of heauen. 

21. And God created great whales, and euery liuing creature that moueth, which the waters 

brought foorth aboundantly after their kinde, and every winged foule after his kinde : 
and God saw that it was good. 

22. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitfull, and multiply and fill the waters in the Seas, 

and let fouie multiply in the earth. 

23. And the Euening and the Morning were the fift day. 

24. And God said, Let the earth bring foorth the liuing creature after his kinde : Cattell and 

creeping thing and beast," &c. . 

531 common words, among which 
The occurs 79 times. 



of " 6 

to " 7 

from " 5 

in " 10 

with " o 

by " o 

Pronoun of 1st person " o 

" 2d " " o 

3d M " 19 

be, aux. " 1 



have, aux. occurs o times, 

shall, " " o " 

will, " " o " 

may, " " 1 " 

do, " " o " 

that " 8 " 

and " 67 " 

204 
other particles, 57 



261 particles. 

Hence, th* Bible style requires about 531 common words to furnish 100 different words, 
and averages about fifty per cent, particles and eighty-one per cent, repetitions. 



Seventeenth Century. 



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yeelding 
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tree 
after 
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third 
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two 
great 




set 
ouer 
fourth 
hath 


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from 
day 
night 
euening 
morning 
first 


a 
midst 
made 
which 
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aboue 
gathered 


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dry 
land 
seas 
bring 


in 

the 

beginning 

God 

Heauen 

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432 



English Period \ A.D. 1600- I 



Title-page of the Original Shakespearian London Edition of 1 623, now in 
the Astor Library, New York. 

"Mr. William Shakespeare's 

Comedies 

Histories and 

Tragedies, 

Published according to the True originall Copies. 

London, 
Printed by Isaac Jaggard, and Ed. Blount, 1623." 



Extract fro?n " The Tragedie of Hamlet — Actus Secundus — Scena Se- 
cunda." — p. 270. 

Ger. "What have I done that thou dar'st wag thy tong 
In noise so rude against me ? 

Ham. Such an act 

That blurres the grace and blush of modestie, 

Cats Vertue Hypocrite, takes off the Rose 

From the faire forehead of an huiocent loue, 

And makes a blister there. Makes marriage vowes 

As false as Dicers Oathes. Oh such a deed, 

As from the body of Contraction pluckes 

The very soul, and sweete Religion makes 

A rapsidie of words. Heauen'sy«c<? doth glow, 

Yea this solidity and compound masse 

With tristfull visage as against the doome, 

Is thought sicke at the act. 

Ger. Aye me ; what act, that roares so lowd and thunders in the Index. 

Ha7it. Looke heere vpon this Picture, and on this, 

The counterfet presentment of two Brothers : 
See what a. grace was seated on this Brow, 
Hyperions curies, the front of Joue himself, 
An eye like Mars, to threaten or command 
A station, like the Herald of Mercurie 
Newlighted on a heauen kissing hill : 
A Combination and forme," &c* 

164 common words, among which 
The 
a 
of 
to 
in 
with 



lurs 


II 


times. 


have, 


aux. 


occurs 


1 


times. 


" 


9 


" 


shall, 


" 


it 





'• 


<t 


7 


" 


will 


" 


« 





<< 


" 


1 


" 


may, 


" 


" 





" 


M 


2 


" 


do, 


n 


" 


1 


" 


" 


1 


" 


that 




M 


3 


» 


(( 


2 


" 


and 




tt 


5 


" 


U 




3 

2 
1 


11 






other particles, 


5i 

26 




" 


2 


ic 








77 particles. 



by 

Pronoun of 1st person 

" 2d 

K " ^ 

be, aux. 

Hence, Shakespeare's style requires about 164 common words to furnish 100 different words, 
and averages forty-seven per cent, particles, and thirty-nine per cent repetitions. 



* If, since the time of Shakespeare, the literary world had been as conservative as they 
show themselves to-day, and rejected all efforts to improve the mode of spelling, we should 
still have modestie for modesty, heere for here, /"aire for fair, blurres for blurs, &c. In the 
short Extract we give there are twenty-seven words that have been changed in their spelling 
since his day. The time has not yet come that we should stop short in the work of improve- 
ment. It is not necessary to make great and sudden changes that will render old books use- 
less ; the u in favour, labour, and the like, has been dropt quite recently ; the thing has been 
done, and nobody was hurt. We must now leave out the silent i in such words as believe, 
receive, &c. Wherever two vowels occur, the one sounded and the other silent, the useless 
letter should be left out. Every child would see the utility of the change ; it would be grad- 
ual. It would not depreciate books already on the shelves. The telegraph demands that the 
English language should be rendered as compact as possible ; and now is the era to effect the 
improvements ; it would not cause a ripple on the stream of literature, which will only gain 
new force from every reform in the language. 



Seventeenth Century. 



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V 

bS 

c 


'ili-slyi'iSB-lfiitjil 




6 

u 

ft! 
O 




5 a 

OJ 

.« p2 




K 
O 

y 




u Q, 


4 








. , « "S '..J 




^3 







•S 


c> c^^§gyg 




^ 


.2 




in 

< 


« 


U-3^-44 > C 3.3^3 


0\ 


& 


v o 




•J 


^ 






U] 








^ o o 






'O 




8 




u 






o 






•- 1 






< 

OS 
X 


1 


j3 

'5 1 M 




13 




H 


k 

u 


a 

u 






























rS 



1^ 



8 ^ 






o $ 

I 






28 



434 English Period, A.D. 1600 -1878. 

Extract from Robert Burton's u Anatomy of Melancholy" . 1621. 

" I have read many books but to little purpose, for want of good method ; 
I have confusedly tumbled over divers authors in our libraries with small 
profit, for want of art, order, memory, judgment. I never travelled but in 
map or card, in which my unconfined thoughts have freely expatiated, as hav- 
ing ever been especially delighted with the study of cosmography. Saturn 
was lord of my geniture, culminating, &c, and Mars principal significator of 
manners, in partile conjunction with mine ascendant ; both fortunate in their 
houses, &c. I am not poor, I am not rich; nihil est, nihil deest ; I have 
little, I want nothing; all my treasure is in Minerva's tower. Great prefer- 
ment as I could never get, so I am not in debt for it. I have a competency 
(laus Deo) from my noble and munificent patrons. Though I live still a co- 
legiat student, as Democritus in his garden, and lead a Monastique life, ipsi 
mihi theatrum, sequestred from those tumults and troubles of the world, et 
tanquam in specula positus" &c. 

167 common words, among which 



The 








occurs 


2 


times. 


a 








tt 


3 


u 


of 








<< 


6 


a 


to 








(< 


1 


u 


from 








a 


2 


u 


in 








u 


2 


tt 


•with 








<( 


8 


(< 


by 








u 





u 


Pronoun 


I St 


person " 


18 


(< 


u 




2d 


(c 


tt 





u 


u 




3d 


ct 


tt 


4 


(( 


be, aux. 






it 


1 


tt 


have, 


u 






ft 


4 


tt 


shall, 


(< 






tt 





tt 


will, 


u 






tt 





tt 


may, 


(( 






tt 





a 


do, 


(« 






(t 





(i 


that 








tt 





" 


and 








U 

other particles, 


4 

55 
22 


cc 












77 particles. 



Hence, Burton's style requires about 167 common words to obtain 100 
different words, and averages about forty-six per cent, particles and forty-one 
per cent, repetitions. 



Seventeenth Century. 



435 






^ 3 



* 



is 



i2 c 



.s w 

4) 1) 

o -5 
E e 

"° w 

S3 rt 

"5 ^ 

j§ T 

». ^ 

*l 

1 I 
^ i 

5S-S 



2 o 



$ 


pq s 


s 


-C! -S 




be o 


■v» 


3 


§ 

!< 


O 


Si 


o 
be 


"tt 


o 


o 


V 


o 


2 


** 


u 


* 


ft 






K 


rt 






*C 


H 






^ 




O 


rt 






o < 



V J 

o s 

OS 2 

a < 

S h 
o 



WOHMMH 


8 


Si v 






£o 






6 o 






OM 


RESULT 

Latin : 
French : 
Spanish : 
Anglo-Sax 
Icelandic : 
German : 




Ho 

4-: 
a 




o. 






fll 



3«> 



«*g^g rt -o. 



rt ?.' 



•r S a Rja 2 .s<a S ° § s- s- s s « 53 a 



1.2 rt u 
: u c § 
i 5 « a 









o 2 y-^ ft o-a ju <u o fi~T?<r-5 F n tvals 

3"^:'-S 3 i2 O JJ-T3 rt ° 8 cv5 s £ u 

O ■*"• 3 O u 

O O, 

A .Wi.fi 

£=.S2.22 g«- S rt „ S 

en ;£rt g 3 jS.-a «5 in o o-r„ «... 23 3 3 
rt*2-|S §2-= S SC'3^ 3»rt S'3o< m 

gw-3.w§^ gS^ -"ft* 

" o m u c 



43^ 



English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 



Extract from, John Mi '/ton's 'Paradise Lost" Book L, line 115, 
original London Edition. U A Poetn i?i ten Books, printed by 
S. Simmons, 1668," now (1878) in the A stor Library, New 
York. 

" So spake th' Apostate Angel, though in pain, 
Vaunting aloud, but rackt with deep despare : 
And him thus answer' d soon his bold Compeer. 
O prince, O chief of many Throned Powers, 
That led th' imbattell'd Seraphim to Warr 
Under thy conduct, and, in dreadful deeds 
Fearless, endanger' d Heav'ns perpetual King ; 
And put to proof his high Supremacy, 
Whether upheld by strength, or Chance, or Fate, 
Too well I see and rue the dire event, 
That with sad overthrow, and foul defeat, 
Hath lost us Heav'n, and all this mighty Host 
In horrible destruction laid thus low, 
As far as Gods and Heav'nly Essences 
Can perish : for the mind and spirit remains 
Invincible, and vigour soon returns, 
Though all our glory extinct, and happy state 
Here swallovv'd up in endless misery. 
But what if he our Conquerour," &c. 



135 common words, among which 



The 






occurs 


4 


times. 


have, 


aux. 


occurs 


1 


a 








tt 





tt 


shall, 


«< 


i< 





of 








U 


1 


u 


will, 


cc 


a 





to 








tt 


2 


t< 


may, 


tt 


u 





from 








tt 





tt 


do, 


If 


<( 





in 








tt 


4 


it 


that 




(C 


2 


with 








tt 


2 


tt 


and 




(( 


9 


by 








it 


1 


it 










Pro. 


of 1 st 
2d 


person 
<< 


it 


4 


tt 
it 




other 


particles, 


35 
24 


be, aux. 


3d 


u 


it 
(C 


4 



tt 

11 








59 



times. 



59 particles. 



Hence, Milton's style requires about 135 common words to obtain 100 
different ones, and averages about forty-four per cent, particles or words 
without inherent meaning, and twenty-six per cent, repetitions. 



Seventeenth Century. 



437 



oo 




«0 




\D 




1-1 
















,<S 




Vl 




*$ 




^ 


s 




2 

u 

K 


| 


<a 


i 


s 










>> 


8 


V 


jji 


5 


6 


u 






" 


u 


5 


a 


S 


a 


<Vj 


.3 



8 


u 

p 
bg 

c 


w 




^> 


J3 








M 




C 


s 


w 






*! 


xs 


* 




«* 


— 1 


Sf 


•» 




Tl 


iS 


V 


V 




^ 


.2 


« 


D 


*? 


rt 


H 


4= 


nq 


2 


» 


1 


•§ 


Vo 


(4 


i 


.2 




d 


►*? 














a 


Q 

< 


o 
P. 


1 


1 

a 


3 


rt 




•- 


« 








J. 


^ 


& 


.* 


^a 


*« 


8 


2 


1-1 


«l 


V 




s 








.^ 




\ 




o 








3 ° 



m a 

?3 



4 i 

rt « 
JO 

66 

oo 



2 E 



rt S B ^s^ 



a 

VO M 

ro\0 



Kg B 



lll.SB.I.lp.gX 



' > 3 s 



^ * :>> > 

u o3 rt -£,c^ rt 

& J E -2- 

o 



STflBS&SfaJ 



83 S3 



: o-5 o 
■S 



fe?^ 






lgl« 



Et?§§ 

3 o - g cf 



M!8»1=I 



)_ >> 



£&«& 



!S«?*T2£" 



5,6.2 



■E-etS 2 lsSft§ £ i S-r'H 2 8"g"§ a 



•OEfctj'g s, 



'am' 



«JW 



^3 S. 



'S-'rt x rt 



^ 






3 * 



"fe 



438 English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 

Extract from Archbishop Tillotson 's Sermon before the House 
of Commons, November 5, 1678, Vol. I., p. 443. 

" Among many other things which may justly recommend the Christian 
religion to the approbation of mankind, the intrinsick goodness of it is most 
apt to make impression upon the minds of serious and considerate men. The 
miracles of it are the great external evidence and confirmation of it's doc- 
trines and precepts, so agreeable to the best reason and wisest apprehensions 
of mankind, so admirably fitted for the perfecting of our natures, and the 
sweetning of the spirits and tempers of men, so friendly to human society, 
and every way so well calculated for the peace and order of the world. These 
are the things which our religion glories in as her crown and excellency. 
Miracles are apt to awaken and astonish, and by a sensible and overpower- 
ing evidence, to bear down the prejudices of infidelity ; but there are secret 
charms in goodness, which take fast hold of the hearts of men, and do in- 
sensibly, but effectually, command our love and esteem. 

" And surely nothing can be more proper to the occasion of this day than 
a discourse," &c. 

176 common words, among which 

The 

a 

of 

to 

from 

in 

with 

by 

Pro. of 1st person 
" 2d " 
ci 3d u 

be, aux. 
have, " 
shall, " 
will, " 
may, " 
do, " 
that 
and 



89 particles. 

Hence, Tillotson's style requires 176 common words to obtain 100 differ- 
ent words, and averages about fifty-one per cent, particles, and forty-nine per 
cent, repetitions. 



occurs 


17 t 


imei 


a 


2 


tt 


(< 


13 


tt 


tt 


7 


tt 


tt 





tt 


tt 


2 


tt 


tt 





tt 


tt 


1 


tt 


tt 


3 


tt 


tt 





a 


tt 


4 


a 


tt 





a 


a 





tt 


tt 





tt 


tt 





a 


tt 


1 


tt 


tt 


1 


tt 


tt 





tt 


tt 


IS 

66 


tt 


other particles, 


2 3 





Seventeenth Century. 



439 



> 



■S 



cs 

I £ 
^ t^ tr 

4i « 

§ to-* 

? k 2 

s S 'g 

*» ^ 2 

^ I 
«f .15 






8 

I 






^W 




w^ 


i! 


c/}>< 


^ H , 


u 


!-<0 


H 


<5 H 


fl 







§5 
< o 

«3 > 



H O t«;00 CO I 



IS 



HltSil 



•s 

rt 
'Si 

si 
SI 

a 






o 8<3 






§£ 



M g'£ 






a S-S-H-a *£ 



is 



a o I, 
o. « P 



a ,„ o .3 o w « fe.'-o' c • a 
rtis , C?iJa-aS3"'a«4JcrtSj' 

a^T^SSSSllBiN 8 

V "O,-- uj y d, 



E 



^I.rll1iii!|lilj|§ 

■M'S&'ilkl'lfijg&ijfl 



CT3 >, 

™ <n S rt 

•g SJ-g 3 

a <-> «; 



^ 



•55 ! 

8 ! 

« ro- 

^ < 

4 ! 






•fei 



3 N rt 

1.2 S. 



_3c hfl 
9 «W 



.fc"5-a 

a -q 

e a ^ 



u 


« 


$ 










a 


33 


u 


T3 


'a 


a 


cy 


O 


>d 




« 


j>> 


i 

be 


o 




e 


IA 




-5 


rt 


<2 


1 ■> 


-<s 


0) 


-c 


a 


c 


*j 








a 






5C 


rt 








o< 


4) 


3 




a 


3 
O 


P 


bi 



3 3 « i 

« o Si 
<u 3 ? I 



tl 



111! 



o d_2 






440 English Period, A.D. i 600-1 878. 

Extract from the "Bill of Rights? 1688. 

"Bill of Rights." 

A Declaration delivered by the Lords and Commons to the Prince and Princess 
of Orange, February 13, 1688-9, atl( ^ afterwards enacted in Parliament on 
their accession to the Throne. It sets forth : 

1. " That the power of suspending laws, or the execution of laws, by royal 

authority, without consent of Parliament, is illegal. 

2. That the pretended power of dispensing with laws, or the execution of 

laws, by regal authority, as it hath been assumed and exercised of late, 
is illegal. 

3. That the commission for erecting the late Court of Commissioners for 

Ecclesiastical causes, and all other commissions and courts of like na- 
ture, are illegal and pernicious. 

4. That levying money for, or to the use of the Crown, by pretence and 

prerogative, without grant of Parliament, for longer time or in other 
manner than the same is or shall be granted, is illegal. 

5. That it is the right of the subjects to petition the King, and all commit- 

ments and prosecutions for such petitioning, are illegal. 

6. That the raising or keeping a standing army within the kingdom in time 

of peace, unless it be with consent of Parliament, is against law. 

7. That the subjects, which are Protestants, may have arms for their de- 

fense, suitable to their conditions, and as allowed by law. 

8. That elections of members of Parliament ought to be free. 

9. That the freedom of speech and debates, or proceedings in Parliament, 

ought not to be impeached or questioned in any court or place out of 
Parliament. 

10. That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor excessive fines imposed, 

nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 

11. That jurors ought to be duly impaneled and returned, and jurors which 

pass," &c. 

245 common words, among which 

times. 



The 








occurs 


16 times. 


have, 


aux. occurs 1 


a 








<( 


1 


« < 


shall, 


1 


of 








tt 


16 


tt 


will, 


" " 


to 








tt 


7 


tt 


may, 


(< (< j 


from 








a 





a 


do, 


u tt 


in 








<( 


4 


tt 


that 


" II 


with 








tt 


2 


a 


and 


12 


by 








tt 


4 


tt 




— 


Pronoun 


, 1st 


per. 


tt 





tt 




86 


tt 




2d 


(i 


tt 





n 




other particles, 28 


tt 




3d 


« 


tt 


5 


n 







be, 


aux. 




tt 


5 


tt 




114 



14 particles. 

Hence, the "Bill of Rights " required 245 common words to obtain 100 
different words, and averages about forty-seven per cent, particles and fifty- 
nine per cent, repetitions. 



Seventeenth Century. 



441 



K 















'fe'S. 



3 ^3 



*$ CO 

I £ 



JO 1 < 

81 



S 



ft 





■j 

s 
£ 

y 
h 

S 
u 

«3 


RESULT : 

Latin : 8 
French : 55 
Anglo-Saxon : 33 
German : 2 
Gothic : 1 
Scotch : 1 

100 

63 per cent. Greco-Latin. 
36 " Gotho-Germanic. 
i " Celtic. 

• 






K Z 

< O 

t/> > 








4 


3 


« 






>• 

j 

< 

y 

< 
« 

Id 

9 
6 

X 


6 

s 

H 
> 
U 


3 


J2 « 


■5 

3 


d 

■5 


H 


Gotko-Germanic words: 

of which 19 are particles, leaving but 17 words 
of inherent meaning. 


M 

W 

O 

< 

O 


1 


keeping, n. 

a 

standing 

kingdom 

unless 

against 

may, aux. 

ought 

free 

freedom 

speech 

not 


CO 
ro 


O 
w 

Oh 

H 

O 

E 

a 

PL, 
< 

O 

2 


That 

the 
of 
or 
without 
is 
it 
hath, aux. 

and 

late, adv. 

all 

other 

like 

to 

in 

longer 

same 

shall 

right, n. 

raising, n. 


i 

b. 
Z 

S 

6 

u 

2 

as 


y 

3 

U 

PL| 

6 

u 

< 

PS 

K 

H 


1 


questioned 

place 

excessive 

bail 
required 
imposed 

cruel 

unusual 

punishments 

duly 

impanneled 

returned 

pass 




1 « 

* * 

■v. \0 <t 
« .8 

^ s 
£ -8 

* 1 

B 

re 


use, n. 
crown, n. 
pretence 

prerogative 
grant, n. 

time 

manner 

petition, v. 

army 

peace 

protestants 

arms 

defence 

suitable 

condition 

allowed 

election 

members 

debates, n. 

proceedings 

impeached 




power 
suspending 

laws 
execution 

regal 
authority 
consent, n. 
Parliament 

illegal 

pretended 

dispensing 

exercised 

commission 

court 

commissioners 

ecclesiastical 

causes 

nature 

pernicious 

levying 

money 










« 

s 




•a w>i 

§ gd 

<3 u ' u 


1 ' 
] \ 

; '- 
» £ 


prosecutions 

fines 

inflicted 

jurors 


00 



442 



English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 



Under James I., King of England from 1603 to 1625, the 
English language extended to Scotland, Orkney, Shetland, and 
Hebrides Islands, where the census of 187 1 found among a 
population of 3,360,018 only 300,000 (nine per cent.) persons 
who could speak Scotch or Gaelic. Thus have the Celtic dia- 
lects in the British Isles been replaced by English, because they i 
could not compete with a leading superior language that con- 
tains the choicest roots of the Greco-Latin, Gotho-Germanic, 
and Celtic vocabularies. 

In the seventeenth century England began to resemble a 
swarming bee-hive ; its people and language expanded to 



Virginia A. D. 1607 

Bermuda Islands " 1609 

Surat, India " 1612 

Massachusetts, by Puritans. " 1620 

New Hampshire " 1623 

Maryland " 1624 

Barbadoes Islands " 1624 

Bahama " " 1629 

Rhode Island, by Roger 

Williams " 1636 

Connecticut ,c 1636 

Madras, India *' l &o9 

New Jersey , " 1640 

North Carolina " 1640 



Honduras, Central Amer- 
ica A. D. 1613 

St. Helena- Island " 1651 

Jamaica " " 1656 

Bombay, India " 1661 

New York " 1664 

Cape Coast Castle, in 

Guinea, Africa " 1667 

South Carolina " 1670 

Pennsylvania, by William 

Penn " 1681 

Sumatra Island, Asia " 1690 

Calcutta, India " 1698 



All of those early colonies, after having been vastly extended, 
are now (1878) held by the English-speaking populations. 

In previous centuries we extolled kings, queens, nobles, prelates, 
and statesmen for favoring and founding educational institutions. 
As the idea of education soon found favor among the English 
people, who carried it to distant colonies, let us mention some 
striking examples : The Puritans landed in Massachusetts in 
1620, and in 1638 they founded Harvard University, which was 
the earliest and is now the richest literary institution in the 
United States. Yale College, New Haven, Conn., followed, 
1701 ; Princeton College, N. J., 1746, &c. Thus did England's 
colonists in the New World cherish and diffuse the idea of gen- 
eral education. New Englanders have ever been famous for 
their love of diffusing popular knowledge. Wherever they 
settled they soon constructed a school-house, a meeting-house, 



Seve?iteenth Century. 443 

a blacksmith shop, a tavern, in order to show their esteem for 
education, religion, mechanics, travel, and commercial inter- 
course. This thirst for knowledge, education, and progress per- 
vades the United States from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and 
from Maine to Texas ; it started in New England ; every State 
has a free university and free schools. No doubt, if a universal 
census could be taken, it would probably show more colleges 
and schools, more libraries, books, and newspapers in the United 
States than in the rest of the world. The last United States 
census favors this inference ; it is a curious document on the 
score of schools, libraries, newspapers, and popular education. 
We are glad to realize that the idea of general education finds 
favor among the English-speaking populations in Australia and 
New Zealand. The mother country must feel proud of her pro- 
gressive children in America and Oceanica. 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. 



"The sole hope for literature depended on the Latin language." — Hallam. 

The descendants of the Anglo-Saxons and Franco-Normans, 
after being engaged from A. D. 1200 to A.D. 1700, in selecting 
and polishing their language, began to feel the want of more ex- 
pansive and sonorous words ; they had enough monosyllables and 
dissyllables of primary and secondary necessity ; now expressions 
of deep and reiterated action were needed. They were not to 
be found in the Gotho-Germanic idioms. Germany herself, with 
her vast literature, has ever turned to Greco-Latin for all such 
terms, as shown by Heyse's Lexicon, which records over 6,000 
foreign words. Rome had assimilated the best of antiquity's 
vocabulary in her composite language : Thraco Pelasgic, Celtic, 
Etruscan, and Greek. 

An astronomer, in stilly night, gazing into stellar spaces ; what 
verb will express his action ? see, look, seek, search, think ? only 
contemplate is sufficiently expressive. 

One hears a loud noise going to and returning from hill to hill ; 
what term will describe it all ? sound, boom, roar, echo ? all too 
tame, but reverberate tells the whole in one word. Wherever a 
human heart can be felt and heard, a language without the word 
palpitate cannot properly express the wonderful action. We 
could cite any number of like instances. Thus the English, to 
perfect their superior language, resorted to Latin. The follow- 
ing Table contains a rich vocabulary of deeply meaning poly- 
syllabic verbs, nouns, and adjectives : 



446 



English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 



^ 











■tf 






m 












s 
















m 






PA 


•5 




ti 


<-> 




H 


.«■> 




> 


0) 




X 


5 




in 


<J 




1— 1 


tf 




h-l 


v 






■5. 




w 


s 




w 


fc 


■a 


ffl 


s 


a 


H 





.» 




^ 


S? 


h 


s 


CI 


O 




t 


W 


Ss 


^ 


s 


* 







,5? 




en 


t 




|xi 






O 


< 




3 


! 




<j 


s 




H 


•* 
?: 
« 





^2 



8^-S 

•3^ 


dedicatum 

degeneratum 

delegatum 

deliberatum 

demonstratum 

depositum 

detectum 

devotum 

dictatum 

diffusum 

digestum 

digressum 

dilatum 

dilutum 

disciiminatum 

dispersum 

dissectum 


English Verbs 

formed fram 

these 


dedicate 

degenerate 

delegate 

delibei"ate 

demonstrate 

deposit 

detect 

devote 

dictate 

diffuse 

digest 

digress 

dilate 

dilute 

discriminate 

disperse 

dissect 


3« 


complicatum 

concoctum 

conductum 

confiscatum 

congratulatus 

conjugatum 

consecratum 

constitutum 

const ructum 

consummatum 

contaminatum 

contemplatum 

corroboratum 

corruptum 

creatum 

criminatus 

debilitatum 




complicate 

concoct 

conduct 

confiscate 

congratulate 

conjugate 

consecrate 

constitute 

construct 

consummate 

contaminate 

contemplate 

corroborate 

corrupt 

create 

criminate 

debilitate 


•1 ? "•» 


arrogatum 

articulatum 

assertum 

assessum 

assimilatum 

attenuatum 

attractum 

audi turn 

calumniatus 

celebratum 

circuiatum 

circumventum 

cogitatum 

collapsus 

collectum 

commemoratum 

communicatum 


I* 


arrogate 

articulate 

assert 

assess 

assimilate 

attenuate 

attract 

audit 

calumniate 

celebrate 

circulate 

circumvent 

cogitate 

collapse 

collect 

commemorate 

communicate 




Sis- 


abdicatum 

abrogatum 

accommodatum 

accumulatum 

adjudicatum 

administratum 

adult eratum 

advocatum 

afflictum 

aggravatum 

agitatum 

alienatum 

alternatum 

amputatum 

animatum 

anticipatum 

arbitratus 


►Q 8 


abdicate 

abrogate 

accommodate 

accumulate 

adjudicate 
administrate 

adulterate 

advocate 

afflict 

aggravate 

agitate 

alienate 

alternate 

amputate 
animate 

anticipate 
arbitrate 



Eighteenth Century. 447 



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448 English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 

The following are a few of the nouns and adjectives formed 
from the above verbs by adding io?i or ive, or by substituting ion 
or ive to final e, as : affliction, alternative, corruption, dissipation, 
election, fluctuation, impression, litigation, machination, operative, 
suggestive, &c. There are over three hundred words in ion 
alone. Most of these vocables are in French and in English, 
According to the ablest Latin commentators, um was pronounced 
by the Romans like 00m in room : and us like oose in goose. 
Did it not evince excellent taste in the English to drop these 
booming and oosifig suffixes ? Lord Brougham advised the stu- 
dents of Glasgow University to avoid long Latin words and use 
Anglo-Saxon terms instead, little dreaming that these vocables 
are the dome of the English language, whose finishing touch is 
to be harmony between letter and sound. 

Many English verbs are derived from Latin infinitives by 
dropping re, ere, and sometimes the consonant immediately be- 
fore these terminations, as : advert, allude, admit, comprehend, 
conclude, describe, dissolve, disturb, expel, imbue, move, occur, 
produce, refund, succumb, &c. 

By the Anglo-Saxon, French, and Latin "Tables" an effort was 
made to unveil the almost hidden workings of the English mind, 
in combining its multifarious vocabulary, showing, as it were, the 
analyzing and synthetizing processes used in the great work, 
spreading over many centuries, so as to enable the student to 
observe the changes, as they gradually came about in the slow 
transition from Anglo-Saxon to English. 

We often hear, not only sensation speakers, but even men of 
education eulogize Anglo-Saxon and express a yearning for the 
lost dialect, whose framework is still in the English. But would 
they, after due reflection, return to inflections in an, and a vocab- 
ulary with h before /, r, and w, and ge before many of the words 
as displayed in our Tables ? Would it not be better to proceed 
with that, which has been so admirably going on for a very long 
time, and endeavor to perfect the Gotho-Germanized and Greco- 
Latinized English, and render it as harmonious in letter and 
sound as it is expeditious in grammar and direct in construction. 

England's colonies, so carefully planted and fostered during 
the previous century, prospered ; the most beneficent among 
them was that of Botany Bay with 778 convicts in 1787, which 



Eighteenth Century. 449 

gave to outcasts a chance to reform, with their analogues, amid 
natural scenery instead of bars and walls, far from the haunts 
of vice, in contact with kindly mother Earth, that ever feeds 
those who will cultivate her. Every country and large city should 
have such a place. The like might be done for the incurable 
rheumatics and consumptives that crowd our hospitals. Could 
they be carefully transplanted to warmer climates, where rural 
occupations might assist their recovery, a large proportion of 
them would regain their health and become useful and happy. If 
the English-speaking populations will continue to foster such 
colonies as that of Botany Bay, and add to them others for such 
as are physically prostrated ; it will not only do a great amount of 
good to those now very miserable, but will spread their language 
and civilization to regions now deserted. It is a remarkable 
historic fact, that the descendants of those convict settlers have 
usually turned out well. The removing them from all opportu- 
nity to commit crime worked a radical cure in the individuals, and 
their old propensities did not descend to their posterity. As that 
class of persons are usually intelligent and active, they find ample 
opportunity for their activity in a large, unsettled territory. 

England had a musical virtuoso in Dr. Arne, on whom Oxford 
University conferred the degree of Dr. of Music, 1759. He- com- 
posed Addison's Rosamond, Masque of Alfred, Comus, Arta- 
xerxes, &c, organ Concertos and Ballads. Now began the native 
English musical vocabulary. This was a step in the right direc- 
tion ; for genius of any kind, whether in the literary, scientific, 
artistic, or inventive domain, should not only be encouraged, 
appreciated, and rewarded, but honored. There is no reason 
why there should not be Doctors of Music, Painting, Sculpture, 
Inventions, Mechanics, Manufactures, and Trades, as well as 
D.D.'s, M.D.'s, and LL.D.'s. Such a system would emulate the 
bright and the dull, the quick and the slow. While Dr. Arne's 
symphony was delighting England, Mozart's harmonic pathos 
charmed Germany. 

In 1735 appeared "Description Geographique, Historique, 
Chronologique, Politique, et physique de l'Empire de la Chine, 
et de la Tartarie Chinoise," by Father Du Halde, who first de- 
scribed that exclusive empire and people with accuracy. His 
information was derived from the Jesuit missionaries, who had 
29 



450 English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 

visited China. In this erudite work is a seemingfv accurate like- 
ness of Confucius, whose wisdom illuminated that vast country, 
500 B.C. 

The opening of this age saw Peter the Great, as reformer of 
the Moscovites : to accomplish a reform among his barbarous 
subjects, he traveled incognito and worked for wages as a ship- 
carpenter in Holland. Next he visited England and other coun- 
tries, and returned to Russia after more than a year's absence. 
Then he procured the services of talented foreigners in various 
departments of science, art, and mechanics. By this course he 
so inspired his people with progressive ideas, that he raised his 
country to the rank of the great European powers. Such enter- 
prise and self-denial deserve mankind's admiration, even if ac- 
companied by severity and sacrifices ; for within one hundred 
and thirty-six years from the death of Peter the Great the Russians 
so progressed that serfdom, amounting to 20,000,000 souls, could 
be abolished, 1861. 

In this age the North American Colonies took a high stand, 
and achieved within one hundred years intellectual, political and 
territorial expansion unparalleled in history. The three millions 
in the thirteen colonies resented taxation without representation. 
England had but two statesmen : Chatham and Burke, who saw 
the justice of the claim and vindicated it before the British Parlia- 
ment, 1774; but George III. and his supporters, hugging the 
principle of "divine right" ever backed by force, precipitated a 
rupture by rejecting with disdain all the petitions, presented by 
Dr. Franklin, 1775, when the peaceable American delegate re- 
turned from England without hope of reconciliation. On this 
occasion the English sovereign and his advisers miscalculated, 
when they looked to mere numbers : 3,000,000 against the British 
Empire. They little dreamt what would be done by men, who 
knew the right was on their side, and that the whole world would 
see and appreciate that important fact and stand by them in the 
contest. Soldiers like Washington, who had been educated in 
the English army ; statesmen like Jefferson, Adams and Hancock; 
orators like Otis and Patrick Henry — all of them men of sterling- 
integrity, honesty of purpose and patriotism, who cared nothing 
for life, where right against wrong was in the balance. The men 
and women of that day in America were of the highest type, all 



Eighteenth Century. 45 l 

educated and struggling for their very existence as a free people ; 
the result could not be doubtful. For a graphic account of that 
memorable seven years' war we refer readers to C. Edwards 
Lester's "Our First Hundred Years" written in the style of 
Thucydides, Cesar, Sallust. 

In the course of this work we often alluded to streamlets of 
words, derived from new sciences, arts, inventions, and devices. 
However, we overlooked one of those linguistic sources, proper 
names ; yet the English derivatives from proper names are numer- 
ous and important, as may be noticed by galvanic, galvanize, gal- 
vanism, galvanist, galvanometer, &c, from the eminent Italian 
scientist, Galvani, whose experiments with electricity evoked u De 
Viribus Electricitatis in Motu musculari Commeutarius," 1791, 
(Commentary on the Forces of Electricity in Muscular Motion). 
Were it not so universally known, we should relate the story of 
the effect the galvanic current accidentally produced on some 
dead frogs in the scientist's laboratory. Galvani was a native of 
Bologna, where he became Professor of Anatomy, 1762. Thus 
have proper names and patronymics ever been a productive mine 
of linguistic lore, as shown in Mosaic, Cadmean, Arcadian, Orphic^ 
Pythagorean, Socratic, &c. ; Platonic, Platonist, Platonize, Pla- 
tonism ; Aristotelian ; Cesar ian, Cesar ism ; Christian, Christi- 
anity ; Mahometan, Mahometism ; Copernican ; Wickliffite ; 
Hussite ; Lutheran, Luther anism ; Calvinistic, Calvinism ; Car- 
tesian ; Newtonian ; Voltaic, Voltaic battery ; Kantia?i, Kant- 
ism ; Fourierite, Fouricrism ; Darwinian, Darwinism, &c. 
This versatile adaptability has been, is, and ever will be a rich 
tributary to the English vocabulary. Hardly any of the leading 
languages can so felicitously form and appropriate expressive 
words, whose very sound and sight tell their full meaning and 
significance. Many pre- and proto-historic facts may yet be in- 
ferred and ascertained from proper names and patronymics by 
•truly scientific investigators. 

About 1 71 7 appeared a rare mind, combining Aristotelian, 
Socratic, Pythagorean, Platonic and Copernican ideas and meth- 
ods — a mind singularly calculated to conceive and describe 
natural and spiritual phenomena, and blend them harmoniously 
on a somewhat practical basis. Such was the mind of the Swedish 
physicist, psychologist, sage and seer, Swedenborg. He first and 



452 English Period, A.D. 1 600-1 878. 

foremost scrutinized and described the visible and tangible world 
according to Christ's injunction and sayings : 

u Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow." 

" God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham " — 

and, according to Pope's pertinent adage : 

" Look through Nature up to Nature's God." 

Swedenborg studied these themes and expressed them in the 
clearest Greco-Latin terms he could devise for scholars of all 
countries and climes. They have since been translated into most 
of the modern idioms. In a letter to Dr. Beyer we find clauses 
like this : 

" From my fourth to my tenth year my thoughts were engrossed by re- 
flections on the spiritual affections of man. I often uttered ideas, which aston- 
ished my parents, and caused them to say, that angels spake through me." 

After graduating with distinction at the university of Upsal, he 
spent four years in visiting the principal seats of learning in 
Europe. At the age of twenty-seven he edited the scientific 
periodical called "Dcedalus Hyperboreus." He was such a prac- 
tical mathematician, that Charles XII. appointed him engineer 
for the construction of military works. Among Swedenborg's 
first Essays on the natural sciences we find "Introduction to Al- 
gebra" "Efforts to ascertain the Longitude of Places by Lunar 
Observations" &c, which attracted the attention of scientists. 
Then he wrote "Miscellanea Observata circa Res Naturales " 
(Miscellaneous Observations on Natural Things); "Principia" 
(Principles); "(Eco7iomia Regni Animalis" (Economy of the 
Animal Kingdom), and "Regnum Animate" (Animal Kingdom). 

Such a Varied array of studies of, and writings on the natural 
sciences was probably never penned by mortal before Sweden- 
borg : hence he must have been exceedingly practical : he thus 
alludes to his preparatory writings : 

" My object was a knowledge of the soul ; because such a knowledge would 
be the crown of my studies." 

Thus was the first part of his life spent in laying a natural 
foundation for a spiritual superstructure. On this basis the 



Eighteenth Century. 453 

Swedish sage issued his "Arcana Casleslia' 1 (1749), and numerous 
other psychologic writings, and died in London after a scientific 
and contemplative life of fourscore and five years. Many inter- 
esting anecdotes are related of Swedenborg's powers as a writer, 
seer, and medium, some of which the learned metaphysician, 
Kant, investigated and endorsed. Sceptics and hypercritics sneer 
and exclaim : hallucination, dreams, humbug, &c, and think they 
have solved the whole question. The varied Essays of this pro- 
lific author would probably fill forty octavo volumes. In them 
we can trace vestiges and ideas for Gall's Phrenology, the title 
and terms for Cuvier's u Re gne Animal" and the germs of modern 
spiritualism. 

Behold the dicta of an intelligently grateful posterity : the 
erudite German scholar, Gorres, tells us : 

11 Swedenborg was guided in his researches by a mind clear, acutely ana- 
lytic, endowed with skill and well disciplined in mathematics and logic. 
^Principia ' is a production indicative of profound thought in all its parts, and 
not unworthy of being placed by the side of Newton's ' Principia. ' " 

The French biographer observes : 

" Opera Philosophica et Mineralia, in three folio volumes adorned with 
appropriate engravings, do honor to Swedenborg's knowledge and judgment." 

Emerson says : 

" His writings would be a sufficient library to a lonely and athletic student, 
and the ' Economy of the Animal Kingdom ' is one of those books which, 
by the sustained dignity of thinking, is an honor to the human race." 

Coleridge adds : 

"■ Even from a very partial acquaintance with Swedenborg's works, I may 
venture to assert, that as a moralist he is above all praise, and that as a natu- 
ralist, psychologist and theologian, he has strong claims on the gratitude and 
admiration of the professional and philosophic student." 

That Swedenborgians are usually thinkers and highly moral 
people speaks volumes for the ethics of their founder. 

No doubt, the translation of Swedenborg's writings added 
scores of choice scientific, moral and spiritual terms to the vocab- 
ulary of the leading European languages ; for this reason alone, 



454 English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 

to say nothing of their high metaphysic bearing, they deserve a 
conspicuous place in this work. 

Swedenborg was to the eighteenth century what Bunyan was 
to the seventeenth, with this difference : the former was a graduate 
of a university, while the latter was a tinker. The Jews would 
have styled Bunyan and Swedenborg prophets ; the Greeks and 
Romans, oracles ; the Medievals, wizards. In our day the char- 
itably disposed name them clairvoyants or mediums, while the 
uncharitably disposed call them impostors and other bad names. 

During this age, prolific in great ideas, discoveries, and inven- 
tions, language was given to such as had been deprived thereof 
by Nature, namely, to deaf-mutes. We read that the Abbe de 
l'Epee met at Paris two deaf-mute girls, who lived in retirement 
with a disconsolate mother. The intelligence they showed and 
the sorrow of the mother in seeing them reduced to life-long 
silence, inspired the Abbe with the thought of devoting his leisure 
hours to enable them to interchange ideas among themselves and 
with the world. He succeeded so well that he resolved to con- 
secrate his life and fortune to teach deaf-mutes to speak. Under 
his tuition pupils soon acquired the most useful knowledge, and 
the faculty to communicate it to others. Some became thorough 
linguists ; some profound mathematicians ; others obtained aca- 
demic prizes for their literary productions. With an income of 
12,000 francs per year, the Abbe supported an institution of 
forty deaf-mutes. When the Emperor Joseph II. came to Paris, 
he admired Epee's asylum and the simplicity of its founder. He 
asked permission to place with him a student, who could learn 
his method and transplant the benefits thereof to Germany. In 
1780 the Russian Ambassador complimented the Abbe from his 
sovereign, and offered him a considerable present. 

" Tell Catherine" replied Epee, "I never receive gold; but if my labors 
have any claim to her esteem, all I ask of her is to send me from her vast 
empire a deaf-mute to educate." 

We owe to Epee : " True Method of Teaching Deaf Mutes, 
Confirmed by a Long Experience." He communicated his secret 
to Abbe Sicard, who succeeded him. Thus were faculties, de- 
nied by Nature, supplied by art, whence it would seem as though 
human ingenuity was unbounded and almost divine. Epee's insti- 



Eighteenth Century. 455 

tutions have spread over the civilized world. Monarchs, princes, 
States, communities, and municipalities support and take pride 
in schools and asylums for deaf-mutes. Wallis in England, Ponce 
in Spain, Amman in Germany, and Pereyre in France, had writ- 
ten and speculated on this subject; but their writings and ex- 
periments had no practical results. In this connection we can- 
not help mentioning the highly philanthropic efforts of John 
Howard, who, after Visiting most of the English county jails and 
observing the brutal treatment of prisoners, induced the British 
government, 1774, to reform the "prison disciplined To his 
heroic labors and to his work, entitled, " The State of the Prisons 
in England," is due the interdiction of cruelty to prisoners through- 
out the civilized world. He was in his day, 1774, to men what 
Bergh is now, 1878, to animals. In his tour over Europe, during 
which he died, 1790, in Russia, he visited not only prisons, but 
hospitals and places of suffering and destitution. The eloquent 
Burke says : 

" Howard was taking the gauge and dimensions of misery, depression, and 
contempt." 

England's "Royal Society' 1 '' never added F.R.S. so worthily 
and deservedly to any name as to that of John Howard. In 
1740 Captain Coram imitated St. Vincent de Paul's fervor, and 
established a Foundling Hospital in England. Parliament, real- 
izing the humanity of this institution, voted ^10,000 for its sup- 
port, 1756. 

To this age belong J. J. Rousseau's stirring writings: "Dis- 
course on the Origin of Inequality among Men' 1 and "Social 
Contract ; or, Principles of Political Right." These two essays 
were the starting-point of free political thought, speech, writing, 
and printing. They suggest and urge comparison between the rich 
and poor, labor and capital, pauperism and opulence. This 
comparison expanded into the idea of political equality, Fourier- 
ism, socialism, and communism, which have formulated a vocabu- 
lary, speech, press, and literature of their own since Rousseau. 
Strange, the author of this most humane theory should have sent 
his five children to the foundling asylum ! Whether the fruits of 
his teachings without example will prove a blessing or curse to 
humanity, remains to be seen. 



456 English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 

Declaration of Independence of the United States of 

America, July 4, 1776. 
This document, containing the wisdom of most earnest men, 
assembled to deliberate on human rights and aspirations, de- 
serves as conspicuous a place as King Ethelbert's first Anglo- 
Saxon Code, A.D. 597, Magna Charta, 12 15, and the Bill 
of Rights, 1688. Was it not " Time's no-blest offspring" so 
prophetically announced in Bishop Berkeley's poem prior to 
1753? Hitherto history had only hinted at two fundamental 
principles of human government : Force a?id Divine right. 
Those American sages, assembled in the New World's Phila- 
delphia (City of Brotherly Love), consciously or unconsciously 
added a third fundamental principle, by which to govern men, in 
this memorable sentence : 

" Governments are instituted among men deriving their just powers from 
the consent of the governed" 

Thus treating men as beings, whose consent might be reached 
through reason. This new principle of government soon com- 
mended itself, not only to Americans, but to Europeans, so that 
within a century men have become averse to government by 
force, and freely discuss the merits between government by 
Divine right and government by consent. On this new principle 
America based her Revolution, and it was a success. France 
based her Revolution on the same principle, and it was a failure. 
Mexico, Central and South America based on it their separation 
from Spain, and it has since been on trial in America. Europe 
has been watching its workings with intense interest. 

In the first place, the principle of government by Consent in- 
volves, presupposes, and requires education ; for Co?isent cannot 
be reached through ignorance, superstition, or prejudice. Spain 
has lately tried it and failed. France is now (1878) trying it; 
will it succeed ? 

As Lord Macaulay's Essay on Randall's biography of Thomas 
Jefferson is the strongest argument against government by con- 
sent, we quote from it, that readers may realize the dangers pre- 
dicted against that system : 

"I have long been convinced thac institutions purely democratic must, 
sooner or later, destroy liberty or civilization, or both. In Europe, where the 



Eighteenth Century. 457 



population is dense, the effect of such institutions would be almost instantane- 
ous. What happened lately in France is an example. In 1848 a pure Democ- 
racy was established there. During a short time there was reason to expect a 
general spoliation, a national bankruptcy, a new partition of the soil, a maxi- 
mum of prices, a ruinous load of taxation laid on the rich for the purpose of 
supporting the poor in idleness. Such a system would, in twenty years, have 
made France as poor and barbarous as the France of the Carlovingians. 
Happily the danger was averted ; and now there is a despotism, a silent tri- 
bune, an enslaved press. Liberty is gone, but civilization has been saved. I 
have not the smallest doubt that if we had a purely democratic government 
here the effect would be the same. Either the poor would plunder the rich, 
and civilization would perish, or order and prosperity would be saved by a 
strong military government, and liberty would perish. You may think that 
your country enjoys an exemption from these evils. I will frankly own to you 
that I am of a very different opinion. Your fate I believe to be certain, 
though it is deferred by a physical cause. As long as you have a boundless 
extent of fertile and unoccupied land, your laboring population will be far 
more at ease than the laboring population of the Old World, and, while that 
is the case, the Jefferson politics may continue to exist without causing any 
fatal calamity. But the time will come when New England will be as thickly 
peopled as old England. Wages will be as low, and will fluctuate as much 
with you as with us. You will have your Manchesters and Birminghams, 
and in those Manchesters and Birminghams hundreds of thousands of artisans 
will assuredly be sometimes out of work. Then your institutions will be 
fairly brought to the test. Distress everywhere makes the laborer mutinous 
and discontented, and inclines him to listen with eagerness to agitatoi-s w T ho 
tell him that it is a monstrous iniquity that one man should have a million 
while another cannot get a full meal. In bad years there is plenty of grumbling 
here, and sometimes a little rioting. But it matters little. For here the 
sufferers are not the rulers. The supreme power is in the hands of a class, 
numerous, indeed, but select ; of an educated class ; of a class which is, and 
knows itself to be, deeply interested in the security of property and the main- 
tenance of order. Accordingly, the malcontents are firmly yet gently re- 
strained. The bad time is got over without robbing the wealthy to relieve 
the indigent. The springs of national prosperity soon begin to flow again ; 
work is plentiful, wages rise, and all is tranquillity and cheerfulness. I have 
seen England pass three or four times through such critical seasons as I have 
described. Through such seasons the United States will have to pass in the 
course of the next century, if not of this. How will you pass through them? 
I heartily wish you a good deliverance. But my reason and my wishes are at 
war, and I cannot help foreboding the worst. It is quite plain that your gov- 
ernment will never be able to restrain a distressed and discontented majority. 
For with you the majority is the government, and has the rich, who are always 
a minority, absolutely at its mercy. The day will come when in the State of 
New York a multitude of people, none of whom has had more than half a 
breakfast, or expects to have more than half a dinner, will choose a Legisla- 



458 English Period, A.D. 1 600-1 

ture. Is it possible to doubt what sort of a Legislature will be chosen ? On 
one side is a statesman preaching patience, respect for vested rights, strict 
observance of public faith. On the other is a demagogue ranting about the 
tyranny of capitalists and usurers, and asking why anybody should be permit- 
ted to drink champagne and to ride in a carriage while thousands of honest 
folks are in want of necessaries. Which of the two candidates is likely to be 
preferred by the workingman who hears his children cry for more bread ? I 
seriously apprehend that you will, in some such season of adversity as I have 
described, do things which will prevent prosperity from returning ; that you 
will act like people who should in a year of scarcity devour all the seed-corn, 
and thus make the next a year not of scarcity, but of absolute famine. There 
will be, I fear, spoliation. The spoliation will increase the distress. The 
distress will produce fresh spoliation. There is nothing to stop you. Your 
Constitution is all sail and no anchor. As I said before, when a society has 
entered on this downward progress, either civilization or liberty must perish. 
Either some Caesar or Napoleon will seize the reins of government with a 
strong hand, or your republic will be as fearfully plundered and laid waste by 
barbarians in the twentieth century as the Roman Empire was in the fifth, 
with this difference, that the Huns and Vandals who ravaged the Roman 
Empire came from without, and that your Huns and Vandals will have been 
engendered within your own country by your own institutions." 

Here his Lordship assumes, that men and women can never be 
socially, morally, and politically educated so as to heed the prin- 
ciple of right against wrong. History, viewed from his standpoint, 
calls for repression ; whereas history, viewed from the standpoint 
of consent, spurns repression, and trusts that man's innate sense 
of right can be so educated by experience and precept, as to 
require little or no repression. The principle of consent seems 
to be the natural corollary, not only from Magna Charta, 12 15, 
and the Bill of Rights, 1688, but from Alfred the Great's "Na- 
tural Equality of Mankind " (A.D. 890), in which we read : 

" Whaet ealle men haefdon gelicne fruman. \ 
Ealle hi beoth git gelice acennede.*. 
Ealle sint emn aedele. *." 

What ! all men have a like origin ; 
They all are yet born alike ; 
All are equally noble. 

Such were the ideas of the royal sage from A.D. 872 to 891. 
No wonder these thoughts, uttered and penned in the Old World 
eleven centuries ago, found their first practical use in the New, 
whence they now re-echo back to where they started. Hence, 



Eighteenth Century. 459 

the florid English historian and critic, Macaulay, should have 
looked close at home and traced the germ of the ideas, expressed 
in the solemn Declaration of Independence, to England's wisest 
and most exalted monarch. 

The sages who drew up the Declaration of Independence, and 
published it to a world governed by divine right, were honest and 
wise enough to govern and be governed by such a liberal system ; 
but they did not dream that their country would become the ren- 
dezvous of Europe's ignorance, and that such a population would 
overwhelm their posterity. Furthermore, after having achieved 
independence by heroic deeds and through long suffering, they 
neglectfully or purposely omitted to extend the vote to their moth- 
ers, wives and sisters, who, to this day pay taxes without repre- 
sentation. Had they granted suffrage to women and withheld it 
from those too ignorant to read and write, their government would 
have been perfect. In 1781 they framed u Articles of Confedera- 
tion" and in 1789 the " Constitution of the U?iited States of 
America" from which we have an Extract and Table, showing 
sixty-two per cent. Greco-Latin and thirty-eight Gotho-Germanic ; 
whereas Ethelbert's Anglo-Saxon Code of A.D. 597, which is the 
oldest English writing, contains six per cent. Greco-Latin and 
ninety-four Gotho-Germanic; the Code of Alfred the Great, A.D. 
890, numbers six per cent. Greco-Latin and ninety-four Gotho- 
Germanic ; and the Bill of Rights, 1688, counts sixty-three per 
cent. Greco-Latin, thirty-six Gotho-Germanic, and one per cent. 
Celtic. Here may be seen a remarkable linguistic change of 
vocabulary in the same style of writing from Ethelbert's Code at 
Canterbury, A.D. 597, to the "Constitution of the United States 
of America" at Washington, 1789, showing a Greco-Latin increase 
of fifty-seven per cent, and Gotho-Germanic decrease in the same 
ratio. Let us observe in passing, that the five Greco-Latin words 
in Ethelbert's Code are terms connected with the Romish Church, 
which is not the case with the sixty-two Greco-Latin words in the 
American Constitution." Blackstone's " Commentaries," 1788, 
show forty-seven per cent. Greco-Latin, fifty-one Gotho-Germanic 
and two Celtic; whereas Alfred the Great's Last Will and Testa- 
ment, A.D. 890, shows but one per cent. Greco-Latin and ninety- 
nine Gotho-Germanic. Hume's History of England, 1776, has 
a vocabulary that numbers fifty-two per cent. Greco-Latin, forty- 



460 English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 

seven Gotho-Germanic and one Celtic ; whereas the " Saxon 
Chronicle" of 11 54 numbers fifteen per cent. Greco-Latin and 
eighty-five per cent. Gotho-Germanic ; and the Saxon u Chron- 
icle " from A.D. 601 to 640 shows but ten per cent. Greco-Latin 
and ninety Gotho-Germanic. Pope's "Essay on Man," to which 
no English poetic production is superior, appeared 1733. Byron 
thus vindicates the author of that remarkable poem : 

" Those mountebanks of the day, the poets, disgrace themselves and deny 
God in running down Pope, the most faultless of poets. " 

The world fully endorses Byron ; for already Pope's works are 
about being concordanced, a distinction as yet only granted to 
three English poets : Shakespeare, Milton, and Tennyson. Sooner 
or later posterity appreciates intellect's nobility. Pope's poem 
numbers thirty-eight per cent. Greco-Latin, sixty Gotho-Germanic 
and two Celtic ; whereas the Anglo-Saxon poem " Beowulf," 
written a thousand years ago, is entirely Anglo-Saxon or Gotho- 
Germanic. Gibbon's deep historic research, Addison's critical 
acumen, Swift's humor, Isaac Disraeli's " Curiosities of Litera- 
ture," Burke's eloquence, and Lady Montagu's epistolary spright- 
liness deserve mention here, not only for enriching the English 
language, but for expanding the domain of thought and ideas. 

The sweetest English Muse of this century is Goldsmith, whose 
" Deserted Village" "Vicar of Wakefield" "She Stoops to Con- 
quer" &c, will last as long as the English language. Of him 
Scott says : 

" He wrote to exalt virtue and expose vice, and he accomplished his task 
in a manner that raises him to the highest rank among British authors." 

The vocabulary of his "Deserted Village " averages twenty-nine 
per cent. Greco- Latin, sixty- six Gotho-Germanic and five Celtic. 
England had another genius from the Emerald Isle in Sheridan, 
who shone in the Forum, at the Bar, and in the Comic Drama : 
his " School for Scandal" is a rich legacy; its moral, embodied 
in delicate linguistic wit, is and ever will be an instructive even- 
ing school, wherever vocal organs articulate English. Such per- 
formances are an intellectual treat and a happy variety after the 
feverish excitement and drudgery of the day. Thus, whether 
acknowledged or not, Sheridan will be the high-toned comico- 



Eighteenth Century. 461 

dramatic moralist. Our numeric analysis brought to light a queer 
linguistic coincidence : Beaumont and Fletcher's " Honest Man's 
Fortune," 1616, and Sheridan's " School for Scandal," though 
written one hundred and sixty-one years apart, both show a 
vocabulary numbering thirty-four per cent. Greco-Latin, sixty- 
five Gotho-Germanic and one per cent. Celtic, as may be ob- 
served in our bird's-eye view of literary productions during the 
English Period (A.D. 1600-1878). 

These instances clearly prove that purely emotional subjects 
require a larger proportion of primitive terms, whereas socio- 
politic themes necessitate a more advanced and complex vo- 
cabulary. 

In this century philology had a number of able votaries. Sir 
Charles Wilkins went to Asia, 1770, where he studied Sanscrit, 
Arabic, and Persian. He formed the literary society of Calcutta 
with Sir William Jones, 1784, who wrote to him : '* You are the. 
first European who understood Sanscrit." He wrote a Sanscrit 
grammar, and translated the Bagavatgita. About the same 
period Sir William Jones made the valuable version of the Laws 
of Manu, and his spirited translations in verse from the Hebrew, 
Persian, Arabic, and Turkish poets. These two savants were 
the pioneers in a distinguished galaxy of orientalists. 

Lord Monboddo's " Origin aiid Progress of Language 1 ' at- 
tracted much attention. In it he develops mankind from a 
genus of apes. The sarcastic Home Tooke ridiculed Mon- 
boddo's theory in his "Diversions of Purley" which is a work 
of deep linguistic research. Elizabeth Elstob wrote an Anglo- 
Saxon grammar, 1715, and translated Alfric's ^Homily on the 
Birthday of St. Gregory T Miss Gurney made a version of the 
"Saxon Chronicle!' Thus did two ladies revive the study of 
England's mother tongue. In 1743 appeared Lye's elaborate 
Anglo-Saxon grammar. Next followed David Wilkin's "Leges 
Saxonicce," Anglo-Saxon Codes with a Latin translation. All 
these linguistic treasures from Sanscrit, Arabic, Persian, Turk- 
ish, and Anglo-Saxon opened quite a rich mine of Oriental and 
Medieval literature. 

To overlook Parnell's "Rise of Woman 1,1 17 16, would be tin- 
gallant. Of him Plume says : " Parnell, after the fiftieth read- 
ing, is as fresh as at the first." From about 1730 to 1760, 



462 English Period, A.D. 1 600-1 

Hogarth not only amused and charmed beholders, but do- 
mesticated the painter's vocabulary in his native tongue, as 
Raphael had done two centuries before in sunny Italy. As Buf- 
fon's "Histoire Naturelle" 1749, made an epoch in natural sci- 
ence, was translated into most languages, epitomized, illustrated 
for children, and furnished a rich vocabulary to language, it finds 
a fit place here. Montesquieu's "U Esprit des Lois" 1748, be- 
came an authority in jurisprudence. Within about two years over 
twenty editions were issued. It was translated into the leading 
European idioms. In his " Miscellaneous Thoughts " the great 
jurist, speaking of Immortality, simply observes : 

" I should much regret not to believe in an idea that exalts me so high." 

Of him Voltaire says : " Mankind had lost its titles ; Montes- 
quieu found and restored them." May 30, 1778, witnessed the 
death of Voltaire, whose genius embraced most branches of 
human knowledge. His attempt to revolutionize everything un- 
dermined 1 the temple of human progress, without furnishing a 
brick to rebuild it. As we never could admire such reformers, 
we cannot admire Voltaire and Jean Jacques Rousseau. We 
think no man should try to pull down his own or his neighbor's 
house till he has the means of reconstructing it better. 

About 1776 appeared Adam Smith's " Inquiry into the Nature 
and Causes of the Wealth of Nations," which at once attracted 
the world's attention, teaching, as it does, that labor, not money 
or land, is the real source of national wealth. This seemed a 
bombshell thrown into the literary and political arena ; for it en- 
listed both scholars and statesmen. 

We cannot omit Thomson's "Seasons" 1730, which resemble 
Virgil's "Georgics" Kleist's "Eruhling" 1759, and Delile's "Zes 
Jardins" 1782. Thus rural themes found admirers in this age 
in England, France, and Germany. Could we overlook Aken- 
side's "Pleasures of the Imagination" 1744? 

The name of Sir William Herschel reminds us of the planet 
Uranus, discovered 1781, and of a telescope forty feet long, 
1789, with which the great astronomer observed the Nebulae and 
other astronomic wonders never dreamt of before. Caroline 
Lucretia Herschel assisted her world-renowned brother, discov- 
ered five new comets, and wrote a "Catalogue of 561 Stars" ; 



Eighteenth Century. 463 

also a catalogue of Nebulae, for which the Astronomical Society 
awarded her a gold medal. Katherine L, of Russia, rivaled Eng- 
land and France. She commissioned Delisle to erect an obser- 
vatory at St. Petersburg, where astronomy has floi ished ever since. 
This century witnessed a most curious event, which some style 
extinction, and others death, of a language that had resounded 
in Britain for ages. No doubt, the Phenicians, Carthaginians, 
Greeks, and Romans heard its euphonious accents, when they 
repaired to distant Britain for tin and hides, as related by Strabo, 
20 B.C. That extinct or dead language is Cornish, of which 
Scawen says : 

"Cornish is not to be gutturally pronounced as the Welsh for the most 
part is, nor muttering as the Armoric, nor whining as the Irish (which two 
latter qualities seem to have been contracted from their servitude), but must 
be lively and manly spoken, like other primitive tongues." 

The famous fish-woman, Dorothy Pentreath, whom princes 
and lords visited, is said to have been the last speaker of that 
primitive dialect. She died, 1778, and Prince Louis Lucien 
Bonaparte erected her a monument, i860. The Bonaparte family 
have ever been doing acts that distinguish them. We are told 
that with her the Cornish dialect died and became extinct. Died, 
extinct ! Is not Hebrew more expanded now, than when Abram 
and Sarai carried it from Chaldee to Canaan forty centuries ago ? 
Does not Sanscrit resound more extensively, than when the 
Hindu Avatar, Krishna, taught in it at Mathura? It echoes in 
all the Ario-Japhetic dialects. Does not Pali speak louder now, 
than when Buddha uttered it in Ceylon ? Is not Zoroaster's : 
" Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," as audi- 
ble now as when uttered in Zend on the plains of Persia to the 
Magi ? Ninevites and Babylonians speak from under their ruins ; 
the echo of their language vibrates now in London, Paris, Rome, 
Berlin, and New York. The Pharaohs and their hieroglyphics 
speak in museums all over the civilized world and are heard 
trumpet-tongued inthe land of the Nile. No language can be 
called dead so long as every name in the country is unchanged ; 
go into Cornwall, where every hillock, brook, bay and inlet has 
a tongue ; their very aura is filled with those primitive sounds, 
that were heard there by the Phenicians. Hear the names of 



464 English Period, A.D. 1 600- 187 8. 

Cornwall's cities, towns and villages, and you will no longer say 
that the Cornish language is dead. 

As Dr. Sam. Johnson's " English Dictionary," printed and re- 
printed, did more for the polish and expansion of the English 
language than any other work, we mention it with gratitude. Our 
Extract and "Table" from this eminent author will show his 
vocabulary and style. James Watt increased the linguistic steam- 
vocabulary by improving Worcester's primitive steam-engine, 1 765. 
He little dreamed that his machine, dipping water from mines, 
contained principles that would one day enable man to outfly 
the eagle on land and sea. Richard Arkwright, inventor of the 
cotton-spinning machine, was knighted for his invention, 1786. 
His mechanical genius gave an astounding impetus to manufac- 
tures and commerce among the English-speaking populations, 
and augmented the language. 

Among all the benevolent societies, " The Society for the 
Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts" has been the 
most useful. It was incorporated by royal charter, 1701. We 
have had occasion to observe since the mission of Augustine to 
Britain, A.D. 596, wherever Christianity has been carried, in- 
tellectual development in the shape of writing and literature 
soon followed. Late missionary efforts in Polynesia have shown 
the same result ; they have now four newspapers, regularly pub- 
lished, two in English and two in the native tongue, in the Sand- 
wich Islands. Capt.Cook carried the English language around the 
world and died a martyr to his explorations, of which he left glowing 
accounts, translated into all the leading European languages. The 
Sandwich Islanders, who murdered him, 1779, were the first Poly- 
nesians that turned to civilization and became Christians, as may 
be noticed in our Extracts and Tables of the nineteenth century. 

A fresh linguistic streamlet into English and other idioms was 
formed by James Hutton's ''-Dissertation on the Philosophy of 
Light, Heat and Eire" and " Theory of the Earth" 1794 and 
1795. Professor Playfair' called it the " Huttonian Theory ; " 
others called it the "Plutonian Theory." Leibnitz inclined to 
the system of evolution by fire. This idea developed modern 
geology, which has been a prolific source of new terms. The 
Swedish scholar, Linneus, contributed the botanic quota to the 
European languages from 1727 to 1778. 



Eighteenth Century. 465 

In 1 75 1 the English Parliament passed an ordinance substitut- 
ing the Gregorian calendar for the Julian, by adding eleven days. 
Hence they made and called the third of September of 1752 the 
fourteenth, thus dropping what is usually denominated the old 
style and adopting the new. By so doing England placed herself 
in unison with Italy, France, and Spain. Germany followed Eng- 
land's example, 1777, and Sweden, 1782. Russia is the only 
enlightened Christian country that now adheres to the old style. 
While I lived among the Sclavonic populations of Austria and 
Turkey (1838-1840) it looked queer to see the Sclavonians cele- 
brate Christmas and Easter about a fortnight after the Roman 
Catholics and Protestants. 

In this century Holty and Gellert were the pioneers who pol- 
ished the German language, which had been comparatively rude. 
They opened the way for the great German writers, who florished 
in the nineteenth century. Of Gellert, Guizot says: 

" He will always possess the merit of having powerfully contributed to 
form the language and improve the minds of his countrymen." 

Lavoisier, who added to language his rich nomenclature of 
chemistry, before he died a martyr to that fiendish tribunal, styled 
11 The Reign of 'Terror" 1794, merits our grateful remembrance. 
That nomenclature has been, is and ever will be a brilliant page 
in the lexicon of science. 

As we have mentioned America's military and legal achieve- 
ments, let us allude to her literati, among whom Benjamin Frank- 
lin stands pre-eminent. Could that American patriarch have con- 
ceived, that the mysterious fluid, which descended the string of 
his kite in 1752, would by 1878 glide around the globe over 
304,000 miles of wire, and along 52,000 miles of cable, and carry 
language from continent to continent, from country to country, 
and from city to city, and that his own native tongue would com- 
municate most of the world's submarine intelligence. Franklin's 
"Precepts, Essays and Autobiography" have been translated into 
French and other languages. Of him Mirabeau observes : 

" Antiquity would have raised altars to this mighty genius, who, to the ad- 
vantage of mankind, compassing in his mind the heavens and the earth, was 
able to restrain alike thunderbolts and tyrants." 
3° 



466 English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 

Lord Chatham styled him : 

" One whom all Europe held in high estimation for his knowledge and wis- 
dom, and ranked with our Boyles and Newtons ; who was an honor, not only 
to the English nation, but to human nature." 

Behold Franklin's eulogy in Rome's dialect by Turgot : 

41 Eripuit coelo fulmen, sceptr unique tyrannis." 

The French and English statesmen would realize, that the 
American people fully appreciate their own Franklin, if they saw 
the statues raised to his memory, the places and streets called by 
his name, and the reverence, with which he is always mentioned. 
When Franklin presented his grandson to the aged Voltaire and 
asked his blessing, the philosopher replied : 

" God and liberty is the only one fitting for Franklin's children." 

" Franklin's quiet memory climbs to heaven, 
Calming the lightning which he thence hath riven ; 
Or drawing from the no less kindled earth 
Freedom and peace to that which boasts his birth." — Byron. 

We may truly say that Jonathan Edwards was to America 
what Tillotson was to England and Bossuet to France. In him 
Calvinism had a zealous advocate and an able expounder. 
Among his numerous writings his book on "Freedom of the Will" 
is considered as one of the best metaphysical essays. Our Ex- 
tract and Table will show that, his style averages forty-three per 
.cent. Greco-Latin and fifty-seven per cent. Gotho-Germanic. 
Perhaps James Otis and Patrick Henry had no superiors among 
either ancient or modern orators. They were the ablest and 
most zealous advocates of American Independence; their fiery 
eloquence roused the whole country. 

Our Extract and Table from " Washington's Farewell Address " 
will show his style to be forty-four per cent. Greco-Latin and 
fifty-six per cent. Gotho-Germanic. It is a unique composition, 
breathing patriotism, candor, and solicitude for human welfare ; 
full of sincere advice to save his country from entangling foreign 
alliances and internal party strife, to say nothing of the clear, 
lucid, and forcible style in which it is conceived and written. 
He was no Macchiavelli, no Metternich, no Talleyrand ; he hated 
diplomacy and all connected with it. This address bears the 



Eighteenth Century. 467 

closest scrutiny. The more it is studied the more its wisdom and 
statesmanship shine forth. The last score of Washington's life 
was a remarkable drama, whose first act was the " Declaration 
of Independence," 1776; second, the war and conclusion of 
peace with England, 1783; third, the articles of confederation, 
1784, which proved a total failure ; fourth, the Constitution, 1789; 
fifth, Washington's election, 1789, and re-election as President, 
and his "Farewell Address," 1796, a befitting close to an hon- 
est, straightforward career, as well as a grand denouement of the 
great American Drama. Here the proverb " Truth is stranger 
than fiction" finds its full application ; for history never recorded 
a score of years that witnessed a new fundamental principle for 
human government, and a war for independence with three mil- 
lions of poor colonists on one side, and a colossus, backed by 
vast resources on the other ; peace concluded in favor of the 
weaker, a liberal government firmly established, and a president, 
who, after being elected and re-elected, utters this unique abne- 
gation : " I rejoice that the state of your concerns, external as 
well as internal, no longer renders the pursuit of inclination in- 
compatible with the sentiment of duty or propriety.; I am per- 
suaded, whatever partiality may be retained for my services, that 
in the present circumstances of our country you will not disap- 
prove of my determination to retire," &c. Next this Laconic ad- 
vice : " The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign 
nations, is, in extending our commercial relations, to have with 
them as little political connection as possible ; so far as we have 
already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect 
good faith ; here let us stop," &c. Then concluding with these 
modest, touching and serious words : " After forty-five years of 
my life, dedicated to its service with an upright zeal, the faults 
of incompetent abilities will* be consigned to oblivion, as myself 
must soon be to the mansions of rest," &c. 

Such disinterestedness, candor, and modesty can only proceed 
from a great soul. Washington's career has engaged able native 
and foreign pens, the principal of which are Sparks and Wash- 
ington Irving among Americans. Guizot's "Vie, Correspondence 
et Ecrits de Washington" four volumes 8vo, 1839, is considered 
the most complete. No patriot ever reaped such universal ad- 
miration at home and abroad as George Washington. 



468 English Period, A.D. 1600- 187 8. 



Extracts and Tables from Authors of the Eighteenth 
Century, showing the Origin of their Vocabulary : 

Before proceeding with our dry Tables to prove the origin of 
the English language, we will mention the most earnest English 
philanthropist, bard, and moralist, Bishop Berkeley, who was 
among the earliest champions of education in America, whither 
he went to advocate and found schools and colleges. Any one 
who will read his "Querist" 1735, and "Maxims" 1750, will ac- 
quire ideas that will improve his understanding in most depart- 
ments of human affairs. As a few sentences therefrom may in- 
cite readers to peruse the whole of them, we quote some : 

"MAXIMS." 

"He who saith there is no such Thing as an honest Man, you may be sure 

is himself a Knave." 

" A Patriot will never barter the public Money for his private gain." 

" A Patriot will admit there may be honest Men, and that honest Men 

may differ." 

"Gamesters, Fops, Rakes, Bullies, Stockjobbers; alas ! what Patriots?" 
" The facetious Man is apt to mistake himself for a patriot," &c. 

From the li Querist," consisting of 595 queries: 

1. " Whether there ever was, is, or will be, an industrious Nation poor, or 

an idle rich ? 
3. Whether the Drift and Aim of every wise State should not be, to en- 
courage Industry in its Members ? And, whether those, who employ 
neither Heads nor Hands for the common Benefit, deserve not to be 
expelled like Drones out of a well governed State ? 
30. Whether there be any Virtue in Gold or Silver, other than as they set 

People at Work, or create Industry ? 
71. Whether Pictures and Statues are not in Fact so much Treasure? And 
whether Rome and Florence would not be poor Towns without them ? 

107. Whether comfortable Living doth not produce Wants and Wants In- 
dustry, and Industry Wealth ? 

195. Whether a wise State hath any Interest nearer at Heart than the Edu- 
cation of youth ? 

251. Whether there are not to be seen in America fair Towns, wherein the 
People are well lodged, fed and clothed, without Beggars in their 
streets, although there be not one Grain of Gold or Silver current 
among them? (It is somewhat different now, 1878.) 

372. Whether there should not be erected, in each Province, an Hospital for 
Orphans and Foundlings at the Expence of old Bachelors ? 



Eighteenth Century. 469 

392. Whether Felons are not often spared and therefor encouraged by Com- 
passion of those who should prosecute them ? 

442. Whether we are not in Fact the only People, who may be said to starve 
in the midst of Plenty ? 

560. Whether it be not evident, that not Gold but Industry causeth a Country 
to flourish? 

593. Whether Force be not of Consequence, as it is exerted ; and whether 
great Force without great Wisdom may not be a Nusance ? " &c. 

Perusal of these maxims, queries, and answers thereto, would 
render rulers, prelates, financiers, merchants, mechanics, farmers, 
and laborers, wiser. A study thereof might prove beneficial to 
such as invoke political economy, socialism, communism, utter 
capital against labor, and think they have solved the intricate 
question of Rousseau's "Inequality among Men." 

Never did Solomon, Seneca, Krummacher, Leclerq, &c, pen 
wiser and more practical maxims than the Bishop of Cloyne, of 
whom behold posterity's dicta : 

" To Berkeley every virtue under Heaven." — Pope. 

" Berkeley was a profound scholar as well as a man of fine imagination." — 
Dr. Johnson. 

" Adverse factions and hostile wits concurred only in loving, admiring, and 
contributing to advance him." — Sir James Mackintosh. 

We read prophecies, oracles, visions, &c, but we never saw 
anything more inspired and prophetic than the following stanzas 
on America's future : 



470 



English Period, A.D. 1 600-1878. 



The Muse, disgusted at an Age and Clime 

Barren of every glorious Theme, 
In distant lands now waits a better Time, 

Producing Subjects worthy Fame : 

In happy Climes, where from the genial sun 
And virgin Earth such scenes ensue, 

The force of art by Nature seems outdone, 
And fancied Beauties by the true ; 

In happy climes the seat of Innocence, 
Where Nature guides and Virtue rules, 

Where Men shall not impose for Truth and Sense 
The Pedantry of Courts and Schools : 

There shall be sung another golden age, 

The rise of Empire and of Arts, 
The good and great inspiring epic Page 

The wisest Heads and noblest Hearts. 

Not such as Europe breeds in her decay ; 

Such as she bred when fresh and young, 
When heav'nly Flame did animate her clay, 

By future poets shall be sung. 

Westward the course of Empire takes its way; 

The four first acts already past, 
A fifth shall close the Drama with the Day ; 

Time's noblest offspring is the last." 

166 common words, among which 



The 




occurs 


14 


times. 


have, 


aux. occurs o 


times. 


a 






tt 


3 




shall, 


4 


tt 


of 






it 


5 




will, 


" « 


tt 


to 






tt 







may, 





" 


from 






(( 


1 




do, 


" " 1 


tt 


in 






tt 


1 




that, 


" 


a 


with 






t( 


4 




and 


9 


tt 


by 






tt 


3 






— 




Pron. 
it 


f 1st 
2d 


per. 


ft 
tt 










51 

other particles, 13 




it 

be, aux. 


3d 


u 


tt 
tt 


4 
2 






64 particles.; 



Hence, Bishop Berkeley's style 
nish 100 different words, and ave 
and forty per cent, repetitions. 



equires about 166 common words to fur- 
ages about thirty-nine per cent, particles 



Eighteenth Century. 



47 






* 






3 
* 



*, 



6 



i 



y 
H 

s 
9 
en 

65 



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472 English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 

Extract from Jonathan Edwards' Works, 1758. 

"Thoughts on the Revival." 

" Another erroneous principle, that has been an occasion of some mischief 
and confusion is, that external order in matters of religion, and use of the 
means of grace, is but little to be regarded. It has been spoken lightly of, 
under the names of ceremonies and dead forms, &c, and is probably the more 
despised by some ; because their opposers insist so much upon it, and because 
they are so continually hearing from them the cry of disorder and confusion. 
It is objected against the importance of external order, That God does not 
look at the outwax-d form : he looks at the heart. But that does not consist 
in it ; for it may be equally made use of against all the outward means of 
grace whatever. True, Godliness does not consist in ink and paper ; but yet 
that would be a foolish objection against the importance of ink and paper in 
religion, when without it we could not have the word of God. If any ex- 
ternal means at all are needful, any outward action of a public nature, or 
wherein God's people are jointly concerned in public society, without doubt 
external order is needful. The management of an external affair, that is pub- 
lic, or wherein a multitude is concerned, without order, is in every thing found 
impossible," 

216 common words, among which 



The occurs 


11 


times. 


a " 

of 


5 
11 


tt 


to " 


1 


tt 


in " 

with " 


5 



it 
tt 


from " 


1 


it 


by 

Pron. of 1 st per. " 


1 

1 


it 
it 


« 2 d '« 





tt 


« 3d « « 
be, aux. " 


10 
10 


tt 
tt 


shall, " 





it 


have, " 


2 


tt 


will, " 


1 


tt 


may, " " 
do, " 


1 
3 


tt 

tt 


that " 


6 


tt 


and " 


8 


a 


77 
other particles, 32 






109 particles. 



Hence, Jonathan Edwards' style requires about 216 common words to ob- 
tain 100 different words, and averages about fifty per cent, particles and fifty- 
four per cent, repetitions. 



Eighteenth Century. 



473 



c* 

£ 



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K Z 

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Ih O 

CO 



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"JfieJtliltl^H^ 



§* 



tuo E.c — 'g as « -c a t. 



; 3 u 

3 J3 



^"3 



*oi*t 



d 2 






•3 g±»K 

if p. .SPS 





doubt, n. 

management 

affair 

multitude 

impossible 


CO 




continually 
cry, n. 

disorder, n. 
objected 

importance 
argument 
consist 
paper 
foolish 
objection 
action 

public, adj. 
nature 

people, n. 
jointly 

concerned 
society 


principle 

occasion, n. 
mischief 
confusion 
order, n. 

matters, n. 
religion 
use, n. 

means, n. 
grace, n. 
regarded 

ceremonies 
forms, n. 
probably 
because 
opposers 
insist 






erroneous 
external 
despised 
equally 


■* 



h c c 




* 


>'-£ 2 


lO 







^ 



•5* « 
"SSI 



* 



a-3 

is 
II" 

'2 « 

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6 «■« 

8 ft-o 

3^S 

1*2 

J as 

8£°° 

m:- 

So'g 
So « 

^- c '3 

S,£Pfsj 

u V a 

3 >> rt 
> M G 



c?8.a 

o , ,C 

o <u s 

*|* 

rt ~ H 

■a o'o 



Sac 

" o l> 
^ o S 



.2 fe-S 



474 English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 

Extract from Pope's "Essay on Man" 1733. 

" Know then thyself, presume not God to scan, 
The proper study of mankind is man. 
Plac'd on this isthmus of a middle state, 
A being darkly wise, and rudely great : 
"With too much knowledge for the sceptic side, 
With too much weakness for the Stoic's pride, 
He hangs between ; in doubt to act, or rest ; 
In doubt to deem himself a god or beast ; 
In doubt his mind or body to prefer ; 
Born but to die, and reasoning but to err ; 
Alike his ignorance, his reason such, 
Whether he thinks too little, or too much : 
Chaos of thought and passion, all confus'd ; 
Still by himself abus'd or disabus'd ; 
Created half to rise, and half to fall ; 
Great lord of all things, yet a prey to all; 
Sole judge of truth, in endless error hurl'd : 
The glory, jest and riddle of the world ! 
Go, wondrous creature ! mount where science guides 
Go, measure Earth, weigh air, and state the tides." 

158 common words, among which 



The 






occurs 


5 


times. 


a 






tt 


3 


<( 


of 






tt 


4 


a 


to 






n 


6 


u 


in 






a 


4 


tt 


with 






tt 


2 


tt 


from 






tt 





tt 


by 
Pron. 


of 1 st 


pers. 


it 
tt 


1 



tt 
a 




" 2d 


<( 


tt 


1 


a 




" 3d 

aux. 


tt 


tt 


7 
6 


a 


be, 




tt 


tt 


have, 


it 




u 





it 


shall, 


tt 




tt 





tt 


will, 


a 




ti 





a 


may, 
do, 


tt 

it 




tt 
ti 






it 

u 


that 






a 





tt 


and 






tt 


6 


tt 






other 


particles, 


45 
28 





73 particles. 
Hence, Pope's style requires 158 common words to obtain 100 different 
words, and averages about forty-six per cent, particles and thirty-seven per 
cent, repetitions. 



Eighteenth Centiiry. 



47 S 






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8 


H 


M 

M 


k 


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O 


3 


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5 


bo 




o 






<N 


(A 


u 


^ 


S 


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J= 


X 


i 


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•Vj 


s 




S? 


■a 




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rt 


u 


& 

s 


•a 
1 


$ 


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■s 




8 


2 










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K 






•§> 






fe 






Q 







o „ 
V S 
o < 



fs 0\ M 



C u-3 c e o o 

i-! b w < O w < 



So 

6 o o 



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' rt — 



iTO.S J 1 boo! ..5-g=f-5 ^gljTJ o bfl^-G 



? £ o.P 



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B «■§*■§ : 



j'-a 



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513.23 






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3 Q 



— M JO ° 



a 2 c .t3 ? 

^■5 rt o 5 g^ 



^ 



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O'J 



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36 



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13 


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476 



English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 



Extract from Hume's "History of England" * 1776. 

" The Saxons, who subdued Britain, as they enjoyed great liberty in their 
own country, obstinately retained that invaluable possession in their new 
settlement ; and they imported into the island the same principles of inde- 
pendence, which they had inherited from their ancestors. The chieftains (for 
such they were, more properly than kings or princes), who commanded them 
in those military expeditions, still possessed a very limited authority ; and as 
the Saxons exterminated, rather than subdued the ancient inhabitants, they 
were, indeed, transplanted into a new territory, but preserved unaltered all 
their civil and military institutions. The language was pure Saxon ; even 
the names of places, which often remain, while the tongue entirely changes, 
were almost affixed by the conquerors ; the manners and customs were wholly 
German ; and the same picture of a fierce and bold liberty, which is d-rawn 
by the masterly pencil of Tacitus, will suit those founders of the English 
government. The king, so far from being' invested with arbitrary power, 
was only considered the first among the citizens." 

158 common words, among which 



The 




occurs 


H 


.imes. 


have, 


aux. 


occurs 


1 


times. 


a 




<< 


3 


u 


shall, 


n 


tt 





a 


of 




«( 


4 


u 


will, 


a 


a 


1 


u 


to 




tt 


2 


it 


may, 


tt 


u 





tt 


from 




<t 


2 


it 


do, 


tt 


a 





a 


in 




u 


5 


u 


that 




tt 


1 


tt 


with 




tt 


1 


a 


and 




tt 


6 


tt 


by 




it 


2 


<( 








— 




Pro. of 


I St 


person " 





tt 








57 




u 


2d 


<« tt 





tt 




other 


particles, 


29 




(< 


3d 


tt tt 


10 


tt 












be, aux 




tt 


5 


tt 








86 particles 



Hence, Hume's style requires about 158 common words to obtain 100 dif- 
ferent words, and contains about fifty-four per cent, particles, and thirty-six 
per cent, repetitions. 



*"It is Hume who is read by everybody. Hume the historian, whose 
views and opinions insensibly become our own. He is respected by the most 
enlightened reader." Such is Prof Smyth's opinion of Hume. Whenever 
we take up one of Hume's volumes, we can hardly lay it down. Thus 
Hume's writings attract an unbiased foreigner. Not mythic like Herodo- 
tus ; not obscure like Tacitus ; not monotonous like Anquetil ; not long- 
phrased and involved like Schiller — his vocabulary is chaste, his diction fluent, 
his narration pleasing. As long as English is spoken, Hume will find readers, 
in spite of narrow-minded detractors. 



Eighteenth Century. 



477 



v z 

"J* </> 

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fc] .2 

•5 « 
Is S 



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,o 






-5- 




■v. 








g 





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22 



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r- U O c •- u 

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« u 3 v o g 






o<o U O c 



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Ul 



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u o 

SI 



o-s c- m.s s-a « 



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B g S rt t S^'S § 2 «^ 8 s « g § 



.bl 



_2 w o'G 5 It £<£ a 
3 w p. a ftS o.a p 

£6E'£«c;3'-3ft 

,S PV"" 0.13-- « o 



S « « >>.s S'S = y 



3 



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^ 



•Si-Jo 

,s . b o s 

i> u-S o 

1*1* 

£log 

Si 3 . 6 
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J2 25S 



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3 3 



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2co > g 



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3 aj g 5 £ 
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478 



English Period, A.D. I 600-1 878. 



Extract from "Declaration of Independence of the United States 
of America, by their Representatives in Congress assembled, 
July 4, 1776." 

" When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people 
to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and 
to assume, among the powers of the Earth, the separate and equal station to 
which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect 
to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which 
impel them to separation. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident : — that all men are created equal;* 
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights ; that 
among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness ; that to secure 
these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers 
from the consent of the governed ; that whenever any form of government 
becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to 
abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundation on such 
principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most 
likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed," &c. 

199 common words, among which 



The o< 

a 

of 

to 

from 

in 

with 

by 

Pron. of 1 st per. 
" 2d " 
« 3d « 

be, aux. 



13 times. 
2 
12 
12 

1 

3 
2 
2 

o 
15 

3 



have, 


aux. 


occurs 


I 


times. 


shall, 


u 


«« 


2 


(< 


will, 


u 


c< 





c< 


may, 


(( 


(i 





«c 


do, 


u 


(( 





(( 


that 




(( 


6 


is 


and 




f c 


7 
82 


tt 




other 


particles, 


19 





[Oi particles. 



Hence, the Declaration of Independence requires about 199 common words 
to furnish 100 different words, and averages about fifty-one per cent, particles 
and fifty per cent, repetitions. 



* It would seem as though the writer of this solemn document must previ- 
ously have read King Alfred the Great's "Natural Equality of Mankind." 



Eighteenth Century. 



479 



I 
•5 



3 



1 

1 



I 

8 

















o 








Sh 


5 




"3 

1O00 « N M M M 1 O • « ' 






Ll|0< 








0„ 


y 




So 






*1 U 


P 




" o o J 

m os o 

S cr B rt « y v 








i 

1 
























is 




mm» 










lOTf 








K Z 












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c/> > 










y 


















H 




U5 








■5 






►j •• 




CO 








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g 


1 


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1 






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w < 


> 


'3, 




3 


M 


5 


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u 


















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« 




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V 






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>»$ 


N 8 


.g 


H 




J3 






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w 








N 








en 


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2 

< 
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31 




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fa 

o 
w 

H 
U 


u 
u 

6 

X 
H 
o 
9 
6 

X 
H 


1 

f 






1 


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OS 

a 

CD 


,_, 2 > to <» ^ -oi - ^ c * ^ M « 
*^ h3 o w h t* *** e ^ c 


H 


u 






rt 










w 










vo 


X 

<! 
•-i 

O 






.-■". fl 8j*s !:s3*J-girfg J 

,S "^ ns « rt g 




CM 

1 


2 
















en 










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►J 

2 
< 

h 

z 

H 


5 


ilSlliaatfgfsfMlf-s 


co 

CO 


\ 


■f i 

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4> in 




6 
o 








ro ^ 
10 "S 




o 
y 






5 










Vj 


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3 

to 






g 


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1 

< 

K 

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■r. T3 "3 ^-o . 
•O en «J en^ii"" t) s> cu> 

«i «i u >>"- u£ .j<« »jli u *3 > 

•s rt m"3 5 2 " = £ H, 2* rt " *s u 

Ci3 c>i > ^ c 'n r 5 °^S <u 3-,U 
t)C/3 O^ ^'u-- c !2 « '"•^ h <-> mig 


to 


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48o 



English Period, A.D. 1600- 187 8. 



Extract from Sir TV. Blackstone' s "Commentaries on the Laws 
of England," L. E., Vol. III., p. 144, 1788. 

Chapter IX., of "Injuries to Personal Property.'''' 

"In the preceding chapter we considered the wrongs or injuries that af- 
fected the rights of persons, either considered as individuals, or as related to 
each other, and are at present to enter upon the discussion of such injuries 
as affect the rights of property, together with the remedies which the law has 
given to repair or redress them. 

And here again we must follow our former division of property into per- 
sonal and real : personal, which consists in goods, money, and all other 
movable chattels and things thereunto incident ; a property which may attend 
a man's person wherever he goes, and from thence receives its denomination ; 
and real property, which consists of such things as are permanent, fixed, and 
immovable, as lands, tenements, and hereditaments of all kinds which are not 
annexed to the person, nor can be moved from the place in which they subsist. 

First, then, we are to consider the injuries that may be offered to the rights 
of personal property ; and, of these, first the rights of personal property in 
possession, and then those that are in action only. 

I. The rights of personal property in possession are liable to two species 
of injuries : the amotion or deprivation of that possession, and the abuse or 
damage of the chattels, while the possession continues in the legal owner. 
The former, or deprivation of possession, is also divisible into two branches ; 
the unjust and unlawful taking," &c. 

235 common words, among which 

The 

a 

of 

to 

from 

in 

with 

by 

Pro. of 1st person 

" 2d " 

" 3d " 
be, aux. 

Hence, Blackstone's style requires about 235 common words to furnish ioo 
different words, and averages about fifty-two per cent, particles, and fifty- 
seven per cent, repetitions. 



occurs 


20 


times. 


have, 


aux. 


occurs 


1 


times. 


tt 


2 


(< 


shall, 


<( 


it 





«< 


tt 


13 


<( 


will, 


tt 


tt 





(< 


tt 


6 


tc 


may, 


tt 


tt 


2 


tt 


tt 


2 


tt 


do, 


a 


tt 





a 


tt 


7 


tt 


that 




tt 


4 


a 


tt 


1 


tt 


and 




. tt 


13 


a 


tt 

tt 

tt 




4 



tt 

tt 

it 




other 


particles, 


82 

39 




tt 

tt 


4 
3 


tt 
a 








121 particles. 



Eighteenth Century. 



481 






5 « 

►7 -s 

* 5 

is i 



fa 

$ en 



s ^ 

•N 



r <; 



^ 1 



8 

1 

■v. 



8 

■5 



c o 



§« 




w^ 


s 


C/}> 




n H 


u 


-30 


H 




s 

(1) 




to 




< •' 




■J >- 




u J 




"i ~ 




%% 




|y 








< 




















J a 


VO M ON M H W M 


8 






•39 






OS,! 


O 




B-S-5 








»i ,c ?a^ ^ 




ecu 


Latin 

Frenc 

Anglo 

Germ 

Danis 

Irish 

Scotc 




a 
t-i 



a. 






<■><£ 

-5 S * 



-.3J5 3 



Jfl o 

I 4>"t/) 



ss, 



SlS'SllS'6.1 

w Pi 



5 g <u 



bfl "d 



CU P.T3 5 tj %'. 



5 > 



^y? 



PL, U 



g^S ft-g 



!> > <2 

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* S w "> cd & 
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u jrt 



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482 English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 



Extract from Dr. Johnson's u Lives of the Most Eminent English 
Poets" 1784. 

" Nor was the sublime more within their reach than the pathetick ; for they 
never attempted that comprehension and expanse of thought, which at once 
fills the whole mind, and of which the first effect is sudden astonishment, and 
second rational admiration. Sublimity is produced by aggregation, and little- 
ness by dispersion. Great thoughts are always general, and consist in positions 
not limited by exceptions, and in descriptions not descending to minuteness. 
It is with great propriety that subtlety, which in its original import means 
exility of particles, is taken in its metaphorical meaning for nicety of distinc- 
tion. Those writers, who lay on the watch for novelty, could have little hope 
of greatness; for great things cannot have escaped former observation. Their 
attempts were always analytick, they broke every image into fragments, and 
could no more represent, by their slender conceits and laboured particularities, 
the prospects of nature, or scenes of life, than he who dissects a sunbeam 
with a prism, can exhibit the wide effulgence of a summer noon." 



170 common words, among which 



9 times. 

2 

7 
o 
o 
5 
3 
4 
o 
o 

9 

2 " 

1 

o 

o 

o 

o 

2 

8 

52 

other particles, 29 

81 particles. 

Hence, Johnson's style requires about 170 common words to furnish 100 
different words, and averages about forty-eight per cent, particles and forty- 
one per cent, repetitions. 



The 


occurs 


a 


« 


of 


a 


to 


tt 


from 


tt 


in 


tt 


with 


tt 


by 

Pronoun of 1 st 
2d 


tt 

person " 
a tt 


" 3^ 

be, aux. 


tt cc 

ti 


have, " 


tt 


shall, " 


tt 


will, " 


It 


may, ' ' 
do, " 


tt 
tt 


that 


tt 


and 


tt 



Eighteenth Centtiry. 



483 



^ 
^ 






< 



I 






Sh 


< 

(L, 




















'2 














0O0OMt>.HMMMCN|O 'X >-> 






or, 


y 








~o 


P 




'* .. a 6 6 '5 






3s 


iii 




g ss.. .... gf| 

& ■■ g^ c •• ■•:§ a com 
« aljai p-J-s = s g 
3 S = b 5« g «- - 
^ fa ft, < c ft £ <; r* - 


~S 






y> 
















< 




ft 


,*i 


N 




< , 




SH « 








< 




■*• >o 


~2 






as > 










y 












h 




^G 










6 g 


1 


aj J2 

ft 


n 











k 
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in 
fa 
O 















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5 


-0 




V 

C 




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^ 




k 


•3 
| 
00 

3 




6 S3 




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< 
< 


u 

2 
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h cs u e 

| 3 


t». 


.<o 




H 










fa 
O 

w 
PL, 


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6 

s 

H 
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3 

l 


ft"s 





> 
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10 




6 ** -5 































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<u 










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a 










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t» 











s 


J 




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H 
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1 


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00 




1 




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O 
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3 

CO 
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0. 




a 
3*&3§lcl|6&S u 8 1 «888l3 


«*1 




8 




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n 




< 

K 




u 1? S i2 ., 8 > 








1 


X 


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c 


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ftg ft^ 


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c-5 



^35 



« 3 












484 English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 

Extract from '•'■The Constitution* of the United States of Amer- 
ica" adopted in Convention^ September 17, A.D. 1787, car- 
ried into effect March 4, A.D. 1789. 

" We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect 
union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common 
defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to 
ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the 
United States of America : 

Article I. 
Section I. 
I. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the 
United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Repre- 
sentatives. 

Section 2. 

1. The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen 

every second year by the people of the several States, and the electors 
in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the 
most numerous branch of the State Legislature. 

2. No person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the 

age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United 
States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State 
in which he shall be chosen. 

3. Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several 

States which may be included within this Union, according to their re- 
spective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole 
number of free persons, including those bound to service," &c. 

225 common words, among which 



The 




occurs 


20 


times. 


have, 


aux. 


occurs 


1 


times. 


a 






(< 


6 


<c 


shall, 


" 


a 


10 


a 


of 






«< 


16 


«< 


will, 


u 


a 





a 


to 






«< 


4 


<( 


may, 


u 


tt 


1 


tt 


from 






tt 





tt 


do, 


" 


<( 


1 


tt 


in 






ft 


5 


<< 


that 




tt 


1 


tt 


with 






tt 





tt 


and 




tt 


8 


tt 


by 






tt 


2 


it 








— 




Pro. of 


1st 


person 


K 


3 


tt 








86 




u 


2d 


a 


et 





it 




other 


particles, 23 




u 


3^ 


it 


tt 


2 


tt 













be, aux. 




ft 


6 


tt 








109 


particles. 



Hence, the "Constitution of the United States" of 1789 requires about 
225 common words to furnish 100 different words, and averages about forty- 
eight per cent, particles and fifty-five per cent, repetitions. 

* New York and Virginia were the only States that ratified this document 
with a reservation. We read in Elliott's " On the Constitution " that New 
York inserted in her ratification that after six years' trial it would only be- 
come binding. Virginia ratified with the reservation : she would only be 
governed by it as long as she felt happy under it. Hence, had not Virginia 
a right to withdraw whenever she saw fit ? 



Eighteenth Century. 



485 



^ 



S 






•J? 


W 


.ss 








< 


<fc 


U 


R 





j 


< 


V 


h-i 

fa 


S 





<s 




* 


w 


* 


Ph 


fl 




^ 




K 


U 


^ 


H 


\ 


W 



wo, 
AH 



o? 

h fc 



V5 

o a 



\Q -* M M H H 


t 


a 
.c g 
JO 


a 





6 u 

000 


French 
Anglo- 
Germa 
Icelan 
Welsh 
Irish : 




u 







age 

citizen 

direct, adj. 

taxes, n. 

apportioned 

according, prep. 

respective 

numbers 

determined 

service 


vo 




section 

legislative 

powers 

granted 

vested 

consist 

senate 

Representatives 

composed 

members 

chosen 

second 

several 

electors 

qualifications 

branch 

person 

attained 


Constitution 

adopted 

convention 

people 

order, n. 

form, v. 

establish 
justice 
insure 

domestic 
tranquillity 

common 
defence 
general 
liberty 

posterity 
ordain 
article 


« 
s 


United 

States 

September 

A. (Anno) 

D. (Domini) 

effect, n. 

March 

perfect, adj. 

provide 

promote 

secure 

Congress 

requisite 

numerous 

inhabitant 

included 





1 









3 


J3 


1 
Icelandic: 


,£ 


H 




1 


which 
House 
every 

year 
have 

no 
twenty 

five 
seven 
when 
among 
may, aux. 
within 
whole 

free 
bound 


a 







5.5 *2 «• ojjjs 

% 


Ifl ft 

C <2 m 

03 U *• 

2 § 


do, aux. 

this 

all 

herein 


< . 

3 X 

i 3 

3 if 



"5 ~^ 



(2 vo Q/*» ^0 









u"o 



-h3 

be 1 

■5<S3 



•£<: b 
O <u S 

goo 

1 c o 

r« „•- C 

5-£-S 3 
<« « ,"* 

►J£.s5 

o-S 8 ~ 
= ^5 ^ 

mi u o 



filrf* 

u u m - u 

T3 c a u 

(j c boa 

gl'2-a 



Sj . rt— ' 

-fi "'EM 



aw 



•ao' 



wtb 



SOS 
S.0 2 



486 



English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 



Extract from Dr. Franklin 's Letter to Noah Webster, Dec. 26, 

1789. 

" The Latin language, long the vehicle used in distributing knowledge 
among the different nations of Europe, is daily more and more neglected ; and 
of the modern tongues, viz. : French, seems, in point of universality, to have 
supplied its place. It is spoken in all the courts of Europe ; and most of the 
literati, those even who do not speak it, have acquired a knowledge of it to 
enable them easily to read the books written in it. This gives a considerable 
advantage to that nation. It enables its authors to inculcate and spread 
through other nations such sentiments and opinions on important points as 
are most conducive to its interests, or which may contribute to its reputation, 
by promoting the common interests of mankind. Our English bids fair to 
obtain the second place. The great body of excellent printed sermons in our 
language, and the freedom of our writing on political subjects have induced a 
great number of divines of different sects and nations, as well as gentlemen 
concerned in public affairs, to study it so far at least as to read it. And if we 
were to endeavoitr the facilitating its progress, the study of our tongue might 
become much more general." 

197 common words, among which 



The 




occurs 


12 


times. 


a 
of 






3 
10 


u 


to 




u 


10 


u 


in 




it 


5 


a 


with 




it 





u 


from 




it 





" 


by 
Pronoun 


1 st person 


a 
tt 


1 
5 


a 
a 


a 


2d " 


tt 





u 


be, aux. 


3d " 


u 


11 

2 


tt 
a 


have, " 




t< 


3 


a 


shall, " 




it 





a 


will, " 




u 





tt 


may, " 

do, " 




tt 
it 


2 

1 


u 
tt 


that 




a 


1 


tt 


and 




tt 
other particles, 


7 

74 
23 


tt 








97 particles. 



Hence, Dr. Franklin's style requires 197 common words to obtain 100 dif- 
ferent words, and contains about forty-nine per cent, particles, and forty-nine 
per cent, repetitions. 



Eighteenth Century. 



487 



0\ "O 
M jj 



52 £ 



8 


t < 


Sj 


!s 


2 1 


^ 


bo~ 


^ 


iy 





z% 


•v 


S3 C 


■- 




^ 


-a rt 






cr 



<vL "S 

1 I 

1 J 



e 2 

O h/1 



* 






a>>« 



A? 



i^<; 






•J I 

AS 



1^ 



■a £-0 



5|*M|1°° 



J3 .>-! 



HJ2" 



§5 



i'rt § 8 rt « 



* "3 "3 

1 3 c« c«^ <u 3 



§5.2§ c -d = 






^ > -a c S ■" ft - 5 g ft o g 






,Jj rt tJ '^3 .3 
mi > 5 C ft 
H"3 O O 



4>t) 



M 



3 tiS >-S w 

T3 C y U O 
O. 



rt ft 



^ 






cS s 



■fe 



488 English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 

Extract from Thomas Wartorts " History of English Poetry" 

1790. 

" The last of these three dialects (Norman Saxon), with which these annals 
of English Poetry commence, formed a language extremely barbarous, irregu- 
lar, and intractable ; and consequently promises no very striking specimens 
in any species of composition. Its substance was the Danish Saxon, adulter- 
ated with French. The Saxon indeed, a language subsisting on uniform 
principles, and polished by poets and theologists, however corrupted by the 
Danes, had much perspicuity, strength, and harmony ; but the French im- 
parted by the Conqueror and his people was a confused jargon of Teutonic, 
Gaulish, and vitiated Latin. In this fluctuating state of our national speech, 
the French predominated. Even before the Conquest the Saxon language 
began to fall into contempt, and the French, or Frankish, to be substituted in 
its stead : a circumstance which at once facilitated and foretold the Norman 
accession. In the year 652, it was the common practice of the Anglo-Saxons 
to send their youth to the monasteries of France for education : and not only 
the language but the manners of the French were esteemed the most polite 
accomplishments. In the reign of Edward the Confessor, the resort of Nor- 
mans to the English court was so frequent, that the affectation of imitating 
the Frankish customs became almost universal ; and the nobility were ambi- 
tious of catching the Frankish idiom." 

187 common words, among which 



The 








occurs 


26 


times. 


have, 


aux. 


occurs 1 


.im€ 


a 








tt 


4 


«< 


shall, 


u 


tt 





tt 


of 








*t 


10 


tt 


will, 


it 


tt 





n 


to 








tt 


5 


it 


may, 


tt 


tt 





tt 


from 








n 





<< 


do, 


«( 


tt 





<t 


in 








tt 


2 


c« 


that 




tt 


1 


« 


with 
bv 








<t 


2 

3 
1 



tt 

tt 


and 




tt 


9 


tt 


Pro. 
<« 


of 1st 
2d 


person 
ic 


u 
it 


tt 




other particles, 


69 
25 




t< 




3d 


(< 


it 


4 


i< 








94 P 


arti 


Be, aux. 






«( 


2 


tt 













Hence, Warton's style requires about 187 common words to obtain 100 
different words, and averages about 51 per cent, particles, and 47 per cent, 
repetitions. 



Eighteenth Century. 



489 









s 

S 

R 



V 

8 



WO. 

i 



o <; 



c 6 

H-lO 



OO 



g' a « c « 



b^C u, of of 
8 « 3,2 . « 



SB 



Wfw-s - a a 



bfl.g c 






E 8 



s.r§JsiJHg 

8p.|-ga8gR8 



3 a 

O 'J 



: O o 



j£ g-g §)-s « 5 »-| S-al-S.'S.I'l ^ 2 «^ c ^ 

« u S 2 G 3 3 «"55 55 ■£ o-- -c M u ot;SaiiP.S 

Illll|iiplili11illl!ll 



: .n c -o _" _ bo « D.T3 _r 2P rt 

1 2 > § k =M I * I l-H.|:s-i 



,o.S 



o >• 
"8° « 



•fe 



►Si °\ s 



** 8 

.8 § 

4 j. 



^ 



490 



English Period ', A.D. 1600-1878. 



Extract from Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" 

1783. 

" While the Kingdoms of the Franks and Visigoths were established in 
Gaul and Spain, the Saxons achieved the conquest of Britain, the third great 
diocese of the prefecture of the west. Since Britain was already separated 
from the Roman Empire, I might without reproach, decline a story, familiar 
to the most illiterate, and obscure to the most learned, of my readers. The 
Saxons, who excelled in the use of the oar or the battle axe were ignorant 
of the art which could alone perpetuate the fame of their exploits ; the pro- 
vincials, relapsing into barbarism, neglected to describe the ruin of their 
country ; and the doubtful tradition was almost extinguished, before the mis- 
sionaries of Rome restored the light of science and Christianity. The decla- 
mations of Gildas, the fragments, or fables, of Nennius, the obscure hints of 
the Saxon laws and chronicles, and the ecclesiastical tales of the venerable 
Bede, have been illustrated by the diligence, and sometimes embellished by the 
fancy, of succeeding writers, whose works I am not ambitious either to censure 
or to transcribe. * Yet the historian of the empire may be tempted to pursue 
the revolution of a Roman province, till it vanishes," &c. 









183 


common woi 


ds, am 


ong which 






The 






occurs 


32 


times. 


have, 


aux. occurs 


1 


times. 


a 






«< 


2 


a 


shall, 


it a 





a 


of 






«< 


18 


a 


will, 


u (( 





it 


to 






«< 


6 


tt 


may, 


U a 


2 


it 


from 






«< 


2 


a 


do, 


U it 





it 


in 






a 


3 


a 


that 


a 





a 


with 






<« 





ct 


and 


it 


8 


a 


by 






<« 


2 


" 






— 




Pronoun 


1st 


per. 


tt 


3 


ti 






88 




<< 


2d 


«« 


it 





tt 




other particles, 


21 




<« 


3d 


u 


a 


4 
5 


a 











be, aux. 




(t 


it 






109 


particles. 



Hence, Gibbon's style requires about 183 common words to obtain 100 dif- 
ferent words, and averages about sixty per cent, particles and forty-five per 
cent, repetitions. 



* We are sorry to find this wholesale impeachment of Celtic and Anglo- 
Saxon authors and records in a work we much admire. To us it would have 
seemed a most laudable ambition to furnish plausible, if not tangible proof to 
support an attack against Gildas, A.D. 560, and Nennius, against Asser who 
mentions Nennius, against Bede, who endorses Ethelbert's laws, against Al- 
fred the Great, who cites Ethelbert's and Ina's laws, and against the numerous 
unknown chroniclers, who penned the simple and unpretending " Saxon 
Chronicle" from year to year during six successive centuries. This totally 
unsupported sneer appears to us rather bold, not to say superficial, because it 
involves a pretty well connected historic chain, extending from about A.D. 
560 to 1 154, and attaches directly and indirectly to personages and writers, as 
King Ethelbert, King Ina, Alfred the Great, Archbishop Plegmund, GL'.das, 
Bede, Nennius, Asser, and Geoffrey of Monmouth. 



Eighteenth Century. 



491 






<* 




M 




<^ 


7. 


*> 


g 


^ 


h 




u 






w 





k, 


ti 


> 


K 


s 


M 


« 


1 



$ 

& 

^ 



*. 



V .2 



* 

o 



M •• 


i 

< 












u 










SM 




c 
| 

NNMMMMMIO CS 

h •* Tt- 1 'S £ 














2S 


y 




" ^9 






§H 


w 




3 * .. •• «J~£ 
2 rt •• J; U 












6l 




K C « rt B g 

rt S cs c « « C 5 

1* 








H fc 




ft 








ll 




VO Tj- M 










«o ■*■ 








<< O 












t/) > 










y 














h 








•ji 






J •• 


.<o 


"d 




k 






w > 

V 2 
s 

05 2 


1 


V 

ft 
S 


M 


5 


H 




W < 


V 


u 










S fc 


^ 






^1 
















<o 






« 




.li 








^ 






Q 




"S 














£ 




H ►§ 


rg 


M 




■5 






ftj 




'u 








5 


W 
O 
< 
S3 

O 


> 

§ 

< 

u 

2 
< 


tt 




^ 






1 


g 

If 




1 «, « u 

8 ^ '5 


PI 


fe 


§ 








8 


rt Jj 


< 

O 

W 

Oh 


W 

9 
6 

X 

b 
O 
O 

6 

X 

H 




O ~rG rt 

*G 


^3 § 




H 


>• 








00 


U 


U 




> • w m rt Si -Sbxi^-5;j=^ >?•- 




^3 












a 








£ 


W 






3 * E 




"o 


Ph 
























< 






Wu, .• 2 












*— 1 
O 

2 


< 

Z 
H 
<C 


5 


c a > a g «; 
'•3 2 tf.a 2-2 BS 

<u'-" S. w in ^ .5 in 
o'-| |^3 |'| 







- 






dWUl-8i8|S--l||sl! d 

- 2 5 « S ^ " rt u i> > .H i' rt s .2 kT 

.S^--5|3.^E 63 5§-a fe &=&* 




6 

u 

w 
3 


K 
O 

y 
3 

C/l 


* 




5 •Vi 

11 

^ 1 


J3 U <u « a Si X. •■ rt ^ C - G - -2 <g 

•2 > a 8 « a y 2 « = - tf B S J s s 
l-|c.2«a 1 b! 3S83g S-a/gjS 

w ^0 




















a. 

6 

< 




^ 


Iss"* 85 iil ■!?.•§ 


N 




H 




X 
H 


<5 


IS 




Illfl 


3. -> J 


hfltn S 

IP 


is 









S G O 



JS g e 
^ P4C8 

0) 3 o" 

o i. - 
. ^ 

g-2 I 
o 

O «i«5i 









S.O o 

£ C-G 
Ml v £ 

■5 u rt 

*^ 
3-S « 



'uJWOT 



G C *J 
H « G 



_e . ft G 



- _, rt e 

. 5 G o 

o a - s o 

■ » 1 b 
ftj*i R o 



^"g s; 

* if 
-° ^ 
5* 



492 English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 

Extract from Robertson's " History of America," 1777. 

" As the conquest of the two great empires of Mexico and Peru forms the 
most splendid and interesting period in the history of America, a view of their 
political institutions and a description of their national manners will exhibit 
the human species to the contemplation of intelligent observers in a very 
singular stage of its progress. When compared with other parts of the New 
World, Mexico and Peru may be considered as polished States. Instead of 
small, independent, hostile tribes, struggling for subsistence amidst woods 
and marshes, strangers to industry and arts, unacquainted with subordination, 
and almost without the appearance of regular government, we find countries 
of great extent subjected to the dominion of one sovereign, the inhabitants 
collected together in cities, the wisdom and foresight of rulers employed in 
providing for the maintenance and security of the people, the empire of law 
in some measure established, the authority of religion recognized, 'many of 
the arts essential to life brought to some degree of maturity." 

161 common words, among which 

The occurs 14 times, 

a 3 

13 

5 

o 

5 

2 

o " 

1 

" 

3 

1 " 

" 
o " 

I 

1 " 

o " 

o " 

7 

56 
other particles, 13 

75 particles. 

Hence, Robertson's style requires about 161 common words to furnish 100 
different words, and averages about forty-six per cent, particles, and thirty- 
nine per cent, repetitions. 



of 




tt 


to 




a 


from 




tt 


in 




u 


with 




u 


by 




<( 


Pro. of 1st person 


u 


<( 


2d " 


tt 


tt 


3d » 


tt 


be, 


aux. 


tt 


have 


cc 


tt 


shall 


t< 


tt 


will 


" 


tt 


may 


u 


tt 


do 


a 


u 


that 




a 


and 




tt 



Eighteenth Century. 



493 






< 



> in H 



*§ a 



*, 



s 



*« "g 



.8 

.§> 

Is 






o 







u 






c 6 


w ro M W M M 


8 


m ion 


JO 






o o o 






g.g-2 


.. « •• o 

*C/3 CVS .. 




u o~v 




OOO 


Latin 
Frenc 
Anglo 
Germ 
Icelan 
Welsh 




c 

V 



C BJaiTS 









c 5 






^ 



3 SS 



G.S fi 0< rt B 3 P u <n 

g « <" "Srt^uti 



ye 






^ ! 



if 13* J I 



C X <u 



5 £ 



5 -Q O. O U "O ifi 



§■'8.1 g-S 

c c F — S 



3 >> C cd O '{J ci 

2 g >-S a-fr.! 



§*jr&5P&a" 



.tf*a c a >-• « s y.- o'o 

js u S mm*! "iL-o ' 



3i c ° p, 






•fe 



494 English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 

Extract from Washington's Ear ew ell Address, Sept. 17, 1776. 

"Friends and Fellow Citizens: 

" The period for a new election of a citizen to administer the executive gov- 
ernment of the United States being not far distant, and the time actually 
arrived when your thoughts must be employed in designating the person who 
is to be clothed with that important trust, it appears to me proper, especially 
as it may conduce to a more distinct expression of the public voice, that I 
should now apprise you of the resolution I have formed to decline being con- 
sidered among the number of those out of whom the choice is to be made. 

"I beg you at the same time to do me the justice to be assured, that this 
resolution has not been taken without a strict regard to all the considerations 
appertaining to the relation, which binds a dutiful citizen to his country, and 
that in withdrawing the tender of service, which silence in my situation might 
imply, I am influenced by no deficiency of grateful respect for your past kind- 
ness, but am supported by a full, &c. 

183 common words, among which 

The 

a 

of 

to 

from 

in 

with 

by 

Pro. of 1st person 

" 2d " 

1. 3d « 

be, aux. 
have, " 
shall, " 
will, " 
may, " 
do, " 
that 
and 



occurs 


14 


times. 


(< 


6 


a 


<< 


9 


tt 


a 


10 


it 


<< 





tt 


a 


3 


tt 


tt 


1 


tt 


a 


2 


tt 


n 


7 


tt 


tt 


5 


tt 


tt 


3 


tt 


tt 


6 


a 


a 


2 


ft 


tt 


1 


a 


tt 





tt 


(< 


2 


it 


tt 





a 


tt 


4 


tt 


tt 


3 

78 


tt 


other particles 


, 2 5 






103 particles. 



Hence, the style of Washington's " Farewell Address" requires 183 com- 
mon words to furnish 100 different words, and averages about fifty-six per cent, 
particles, and forty-five per cent, repetitions. 



Eighteenth Century. 



495 



Si 



.§3 



C/3? M 



u 



1 


m 
w 
o 


<; 


< 


S 


|3 


^ 


o 


* 




v> 




e 


h 


*. 


O 






■51 




g> 


e 


1 


y 


*, 




%> 
3 


PL, 
< 


S 

*. 


o 

5 






S * 

K Z 
< O 



° S 



q 

.a a 



oo 



..a-.. 

c u „2 p. 2 

■B 5 wp e 

rt S c <y rt 



° - 

P v ! 



4j G in ? rt <D 

<« *• ^J ho. 3 



« 5 o boo oi^ g ho 2 fl ^^ J- £ _b 

J3 «S "t! 



c *-> 



oS. 



■ a . 2 «2 & c y 

EiS § 3 -o h 



U O 

' fl'tJ. 



H.Hu-'g N <3 s £* & j 



£ 2-d 



i"o. £.£'■£ 3 u= y >.§ S £ls S'S.H . 



-3 
i « 

P tu 



U & 



g.| 5 E| §•£££ o °'S"3 p-o 2,-2 a ^.-s | -j 



" - S % o 3 5^ 
'5 5 « &s-"2'y « 



"fe 



•3 " 



496 



English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 



In this age England's language expanded to : 



Gibraltar 





.A.D. 


1704 


Newfoundland, America. 


. " 


1713 


St. Christopher I., 


tt 


t< 


1713 


Vermont, 


(< 


It 


1724 


Georgia, 


tt 


tt 


1733 


Canada, 


u 


u 


1759 


Tobago Island, 


u 


tt 


1763 


Michigan, 


u 


a 


1763 


Tennessee, 


it 


a 


1765 


Falkland Islands, 


tt 


u 


1765 


Society Islands, Oceanica 


tt 


1767 


Seychelles Islands, Africa 


a 


1768 


Australia, Oceanica 




tt 


1770 


New Zealand, " 




(< 


1770 


Kentucky, America 




It 


1775 



Van Diemen's Land, or 

Tasmania, Oceanica. . ..A.D. 1777 

Mysore, Asia " 1780'' 

Vancouver's Island, Am- 
erica " 1781 

Carnatic, Asia " 1783 

Penang, or Prince of Wales 

Island, Asia " 1786 

Sierra Leone, Africa " 17%'] 

Ohio, America " 1788 

Pitcairn's Island, Oceanica " 1789 

Malacca, Asia " 1795 

Cape Colony, Africa " 1795 

Ceylon, Asia " 1796 

Trinidad Island, America. kt 1797 



England lost her finest and most prosperous colony as to gov- 
ernment, but not as to language, which is spoken in America 
with less provincialism and patois than in the British Isles. 
Whatever may have happened previously, since the compromise 
of Geneva the British Empire and the United States can and may 
go hand in hand to promote civilization and progress all over the 
Earth. 



NINETEENTH CENTURY. 



" The peculiar structure of the English language is far from having been investigated as yet 
with that degree of attention and accuracy that it deserves. Among other things, we do not 
find, that any grammarian has been at the pains to take a full comparative view of its two 
great components, by which we mean, on the one hand, those words that are derived from 
the Saxon, Danish, and other northern languages ; and on the other hand those from Greek, 
Latin, French, and other idioms." — P. S. Duponceau. 

We shall endeavor, as far as possible, to take the u full com- 
parative view " desired by the above eminent linguist, to whom 
the French Institute awarded a prize for his " Memoir on the 
Indian Languages of North America," 1835 ; then we shall lay 
the result before the English-speaking populations for approval or 
disapproval. 

As the authors of this century are fresh in the minds of English 
and American readers, we shall not enter into much detail, 
because our thirty Extracts and Tables from writers in different 
styles will speak for themselves. After our close numeric re- 
search, showing terseness or prolixity in vocabulary and direct- 
ness in construction, criticism must rest on a numeric basis as to 
words of inherent meaning, particles, and repetitions. Great 
social improvements and international connections, that encour- 
age commerce and favor linguistic, literary, and scientific ex- 
change, will engage our attention, although they may only seem 
indirectly connected with language. 

Fulton tried to apply Watt's steam engine to navigation. After 
various disappointments in France and England, and after being 
called visionary by the New Yorkers, he succeeded, 1807, in 
floating and propelling by steam the " Clermont " at the rate of 
five miles per hour. But soon envy and rapacity deprived him 
of any benefit from his patent and his title of inventor, which, we 
are told, so grieved him that it hastened his death, 1815. How- 
ever, Fulton will be remembered when mere titled celebrities are 
forgotten. From Fulton's success there was but a step to tra- 
verse the ocean by steam, which was proposed in England about 
1835, accomplished 1840, and since kept in successful operation 



49 8 English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 

by the Cunards. Soon it extended over the globe and expedited 
travel, international intercourse, and civilization more than any 
other means. 

The construction of the Erie Canal, 1825, mainly brought 
about by De Witt Clinton's influence, advanced the intercourse 
between the East and West by connecting the great lakes with 
the Atlantic, which greatly cheapened the transportation of food 
and -other articles of necessity. 

S. F. B. Morse had to hold his lightning-speed conveyance of 
language in abeyance from 1832 to 1844. In vain he applied to 
capitalists for means to put it in operation ; they called him 
visionary and crazy. In 1837 he asked Congress for a grant, 
which was refused. In 1843 he was granted $30,000 to establish 
his wires between Washington and Baltimore— he made it a per- 
fect success. It is said, that when he received the first telegram, 
he turned 'pale and almost fainted, either from sudden joy or the 
recollection of the trials through which he had passed for twelve 
years. But an ovation was in store for the great inventor. Dec- 
orations were showered upon him by most of the European 
sovereigns ; $80,000 were presented to him at Paris by the repre- 
sentatives of the great powers, as a reward for his invention. A 
bronze statue has been erected to him by his fellow-citizens in 
•Central Park, New York. It was done during his lifetime. It 
is related that when the Emperor of Russia received him he re- 
marked, " The name of Morse will be remembered long after 
mine is forgotten?" 1 All this conclusively shows, that, nations 
have so progressed as to appreciate real merit better than they 
ever did before, and that national jealousies are waning. The 
writer remembers with emotion, that the great inventor presented 
him his likeness and autograph only a few weeks before his 
death. Meanwhile the literary and scientific achievements were 
brilliant among the English-speaking populations, who had such 
authors as Scott, Southey, Coleridge, Byron, Campbell, Moore, 
Hallam, Wordsworth, Mrs. Hemans, Mrs. Sigourney, Burns, 
Halleck, Sir John Herschel, Rogers, Irving, Audubon, Dickens, 
Faraday, Sir Charles Lyell, Bryant, George Bancroft, Longfellow, 
Tennyson, and a host of others. As we have extracts and 
tables from most of their works, we only allude to them here. 

We cannot help mentioning here Agassiz and Max Miiller, 



Nineteenth Century. 499 

who are an honor to their native countries and to the English- 
speaking populations, among whom they cast their lot. Science 
and language point to them as eminent representatives. 

At the beginning of this age one of the most useful sciences 
had progressed from alchemy to chemistry, which enriched lan- 
guage with a vast vocabulary, reaching into arts, mechanics, 
and manufactures : Lavoisier, Berzelius, Priestley, Sir Humphrey 
Davy, Liebig, Draper, &c, furnished each his quota of elements, 
symbols, equivale?its, gases, fluids, ethers, agents, reagents, &c, 
which have since swelled into a Dictionary of Chemistry. Dr. 
Gall's new science, Phrenology, although rejected by the French 
Institute, 1808, has been a rich linguistic fount ; for Spurzheim 
and Dr. Geo. Combe taught it in England and America, where 
manuals have been written and successful periodicals established 
by O. S. Fowler. If ever you go to Paris, visit the ; ' Garden of 
Plants" and see Gall's Phrenologic Collection, donated to that 
Institution. Next ride to " Pere la Chaise," where Gall and 
Hahnemann rest side by side under modest marble slabs, which 
singularly contrast with the costly surrounding monuments. After 
being coldly treated and persecuted in the Fatherland, the author 
of phrenology and the founder of Homeopathy went to France's 
capital, where they lived, taught, were esteemed, wrote, and 
quietly died. No wonder Hume, in "My own Life," says: 

" There is a real satisfaction in living at Paris, from the great number of sen- 
sible, knowing, and polite company, with which that city abounds, above all 
places in the universe. I thought once of settling there for life." 

The humble tombs of those two scientists, in a foreign land, 
impressed me agreeably; because, after all, their new ideas found 
sympathizers abroad, if not at home ; but it convinced me of the 
force of Christ's saying: "A prophet is not without honor, save 
in his own country." However, Gall and Hahnemann have 
been, are, and ever will be gratefully remembered for having each 
added his quota to the world's stock of scientific lore ; whereas 
their detractors already are, and ever will be, disdainfully for- 
gotten. During my sojourn in Vienna I was glad to hear emi- 
nent citizens express regret at Gall's illiberal treatment by their 
government. 

Daguerre's invention, called Daguei-reotyfte, 1839, has since 



500 English Period, A.D. i 600-1 878. 

facilitated other arts and sciences, fostered photographing 
galleries all over the globe, speeded astronomic observations 
and added words and phraseologies to language and literature. 
In connection with this devotee to science. I read a curious 
anecdote while in Paris, 1848 : Daguerre had watched, toiled, 
and labored eight years at his mysterious discovery to catch a 
fleeting figure and enable the poor as well as the rich to have 
images of absent and departed friends, when his wife went to 
one of Dumas' chemical lectures, after which she solicited an 
interview, which was granted by the learned Professor. She told 
him her husband had been trying to catch a shadow for eight 
years, asked whether such a thing was possible, and desired to 
know whether M. Dumas did not consider her husband insane ? 
" Madame, I cannot tell you whether it is possible or not to catch 
a shadow ; many things were thought impossible that are now 
possible." Of course Madame Daguerre went home disappointed 
at not being encouraged by the great chemist to apply for a writ 
to send her husband to an insane asylum. However, Daguerre 
persevered four years longer and caught the shadow. Instead 
of patenting it, poor as he was, he gave it to the world, for which 
the French government granted him a pension of about $575. 
Here it was not the church or government, as in the case of 
Roger Bacon, Chaucer, Hahnemann, &c, but the nearest and 
dearest, that tormented the scientist during his laborious re- 
search. Thus have the martyrs to science, art, and progress, 
depended on their own intuitions, and self-reliantly worked to 
attain some beneficent object. 

In 1844 America had the first glimpse of a most beneficent 
discovery : Ansesthesis by " ftitrous oxyd gas," first experienced 
by Horace Wells, M.D. The subsequent vocabulary of that dis- 
covery is familiar, not only to surgeons and dentists, but to the 
people ; no Manual of Medicine or Dentistry is without it. 

We cannot help mentioning here the discovery of a planet 
by pure scientific induction and deduction : Leverrier, after 
graduating with distinction at the Polytechnic School in Paris, 
devoted himself to Astronomy. While rectifying the tables of 
Uranus, whose course was disturbed by certain deviations, the 
young aspiring astronomer paused and reasoned thus: If Uranus, 
with a given orbit, mass, and position, deviates outwards, there 



Nineteenth Century. 5 01 

must be somewhere outside of it another planet with such and 
such an orbit, such and such a mass, such and such a position. 
With Uranus O. M. and P. the young savant commenced his cal- 
culus for X. As he advanced he discovered step by step the 
quantities of the unknown planet, and communicated to the 
Academy of Sciences, June, 1846, his results, which were trans- 
mitted to all the observatories. By these data the planet was 
telescoped and called Neptune. This was the greatest scientific 
triumph ever achieved, proving as it does that nothing in the 
universe is left to chance ; that seeming deviations and irregu- 
larities are subject to law. The writer had the pleasure of visit- 
ing and conversing with the distinguished astronomer in Paris, 
1848. Cuvier's "Regne Animal," 1817, read and admired by 
the civilized world, has become classic. Laplace's " Mecanique 
Celeste," 1825, has been considered the "ne plus ultra" in 
mathematics and astronomy. The American savant, Bowditch, 
translated it into English with explanatory notes, winch was pro- 
nounced a Herculean task by English critics. "What we know 
is little ; what we know not is immense," were Laplace's dying 
words, which show the modesty of the great scientist. 

To give some idea of Holland's eminent bard, Bilderdijk, 1831, 
we quote his apostrophe to language, so felicitously translated by 
Longfellow : 

" Ye flowing sounds, in which, with breath pour'd forth, 
Like Godlike light in rays 'the soul imparts 
Itself ! Surpassing light or melody ; 
Deep feeling's offspring, in close harmony, 
Spirit and matter blending and uniting ! 
Thro' which the soul, unburclen'd, breathes and lives 
The life of angels ! Thou blest tie of beings, 
No vain attempt of human skill art thou, 
By toilsome minds, with pains and care sought out ; 
But heaven's own gift, breathed with breath of life, 
• Shed thro' Creation, far as mind pervades ! " 

The opening of this century found two eminent lexicographers, 
J. Walker and N. Webster. While the former pointed out some 
of the remaining disharmony and irregularities in the English 
language, the latter urged their correction and showed the real 
origin, not only of the English, but of most of the Ario-Japhetic 
dialects, as no philologist had done before. Webster's improve- 



502 English Period, A.D. 1 600-1 878. 

ments were such that England yielded him the palm, and adopted 
his orthoepy and suggestions in the new Imperial Dictionary. 
Anglo-Saxon also has had enthusiastic votaries in this age : In- 
gram produced a splendid edition of the " Saxon Chronicle," 
while Bos worth wrote an Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, containing 
about 25,000 words, 1838, and an excellent Anglo-Saxon Gram- 
mar, for which he was elected a member of the Royal Society. 
Thus is the mother tongue of English now revered, after being 
neglected for several centuries; "better late than never." 

Bopp, Gesenius, Adelung, Rask, Burnouf, Max Miiller, Dupon- 
ceau, Whitney, &c, made language a noble science, which they 
christened philology, a name that dates to Chaucer's " Canter- 
bury Tales," A.D. 1300. Already it has cleared up history, 
geography, ethnology, and archaeology ; the more it is searched 
the more light it will throw on man's origin and progress. 

Since Sir Charles Wilkins and Sir William Jones mused over 
Sanscrit and other Oriental literature during the last century, 
philology has taken a high place among the modern sciences. 
Countess Blavatsky's u Isis Unveiled : a Master-Key to the Mys- 
teries of Ancient and Modern Science and Theology" recently 
published by J. W. Bouton, of New York, is calculated to throw 
much light on the customs, symbols, and languages of Central Asia, 
where that bold lady spent many years as an observer and student. 
Her work is a thesaurus of new phases and facts, so sprightfully 
related, that even the uninitiated may read them with interest. 

From the opening of this century nothing could be more re- 
markable than the array of great German minds : Goethe, Schil- 
ler, Herder, Kant, Fichte, Korner, Klopstock, Bopp, Gesenius, 
Blumenbach, Jean Paul Richter, Wieland, Niebuhr, Bunsen, 
Uhland, Liebig, and their crowning glory, Alexander von Hum- 
boldt, whose "Cosmos" will ever stand pre-eminent as a monu- 
ment to human genius. Madame de StaeTs treatise on German 
literature, styled " De l'Allemagne," has been pronounced a 
chef-d'oeuvre by French, German, English, and American critics. 
Hence we refer lovers of German literature to her. Whoever 
will carefully peruse Goethe's "Herman and Dorothea " and 
" Werther's Sorrows" will see in the former a true picture of 
the German character, manners, and customs ; in the latter a 
German youth's romantic and tragic dreams. These are Goethe's 



Nineteenth Century. 503 

only writings that have a moral point ; the others are highly 
artistic productions, which, like the author's own life, are with- 
out any apparent moral tone. Faust may be considered as 
Goethe's autobiography. 

Schiller was the whole-souled man and author — open, sincere, 
true. His parents had destined him for the ministry, but he pre- 
ferred law or medicine, which latter he studied for a time, but was 
finally educated at Charles' Academy as a cadet for the service 
of the Duke of Wurtemberg. The reading of Wieland's excel- 
lent version of Shakespeare's works awakened Schiller's enthu- 
siasm for the drama ; but as there was an ordinance, forbidding 
cadets to be literati, Schiller resolved to desert and cast his lot 
among the English-speaking populations in Britain or America. 
Schiller's life and all his writings, especially his "Jimgfrau vo?i 
Orleans " (Maid of Orleans), evince a deep veneration and 
championship for woman. Shakespeare and Voltaire perverted 
history, and injured themselves by casting a slur on the pure 
woman, who died a martyr to save her country. Schiller and 
Southey fully vindicated Joan of Arc in their admired essays. As 
Schiller's private correspondence* expresses noble sentiments 
and shows his real character more clearly than any of his literary 
productions, we cite a few passages therefrom. The English 
and Americans, who are unacquainted with this phase of the 
great writer's career, will, no doubt, feel a deep interest therein : 

" To Madam von Wolzogen : ■(• 

"Hanover, January, 1783. 
" I have made a decided change in my plans. I at first thought of Hol- 
land, and now I have turned towards England ; it is not from inclination. 
My great desire is to see the New World. If North America becomes free, 
then it is settled that I go there. Something boils in my veins — I long to 
make a leap in this rugged world that shall be heard of. Write to me, I beg, 
and let me hear that you are still my friend." 

" Frankfort, Jan., 1783. 
"To William von Wolzogen:^: 

" My fate has now led me hither, &c. Did I not always say to you, when 
we were yet together, that my fortunes would be nearly the same as they have 

* The gems of that interesting interchange were translated into English by 
Mrs. Jane L. Weisse, 1841. 
f " Letters of Schiller," p. 17. 
\ Schiller's schoolmate, son of Madam Wolzogen. 



504 English Period, A.D. 1 600-1 878. 

now become? I can no longer endure this; * I depart for America, and this 
shall be my farewell letter. I have exact information from a commercial 
house here, how one goes forward in the New World. But you will ask, 
what will I do there? that time and circumstances shall determine; I have 
not neglected my medicine — or I could teach, as professor of philosophy — 
perhaps enter into politics — perhaps nothing of all that. But I shall not 
therefore cease to write tragedies ; you know that my whole being depends on 
that. If I have the opportunity, you shall hear from me from America. Fare- 
well, dearest friend, and continue to love me, as I love you. Remember me 
to Petersen, Abel and all others, that were dear to my heart." 

"Jena, Sept. 12, 1789. 
l< To Charlotte von Lengefeld : f 

" I have just returned from a walk. In the great free space of Nature as 
in my solitary chamber, it is ever the same ether in which I move, and the 
fairest landscape is to me but a more beautiful mirror of ever-remaining form. 
Never have I felt so much, how freely the soul deals with all created things, 
how little they can give of themselves, but all — all receive from the soul. 
Only by that, which we lend to Nature, does she attract and enrapture us. 
The charm, in which she dresses herself, is only the reflection of the agreeable 
in the soul of the spectator ; and enthusiastically we kiss the glass that sur- 
prises us with our own image. Who could otherwise bear the eternal same- 
ness of her appearance, the eternal repetition of herself? Only through man 
becomes she various : only because we renew ourselves, becomes she new. 
How often have I seen the sun go down, and how often has my fancy lent it 
speech and soul! but never, never as now have I read in it my love," &c, 
p. 121. 

As many of the fifty-eight letters, thus translated, contain phi- 
losophic ideas full of pathos and are an acquisition to any litera- 
ture, we quote from the one that attributes all to man's soul, 
without which the universe would have no witness, no contem- 
plater, no admirer. Imagine Schiller in America (1783) as 
teacher, physician, or politician ; for there was little room for 
tragedies among the Puritans or Quakers. He might have be- 
come eminent among his countrymen, who have ever been excel- 
lent citizens of the great Republic; but would he have become 
the lofty poet and historian ? His grateful countrymen remem- 
bered him and placed his statue with that of Humboldt in New 
York Central Park. How his enthusiastic spirit must glory in 
this triumph ! 

* Living concealed as a deserter. 
f The lady Schiller married, 1790. 



Nineteenth Century. 5°5 

Balbi's "Ethnographic Atlas of the Globe ; or. Classification of 
Ancient and Modern Nations according to their Language " con- 
tains a mine of useful knowledge, derived from Humboldt, Cham- 
pollion, Adelung, and other savants. Italy may feel as proud of 
Balbi in this as she did of Dante in the fourteenth century. The 
metaphysic mysticism of Kant, Fichte, Schelling, Hegel, &c, 
culminated in the beginning of this age. Some called it "Trans- 
cendentalism." Soon it spread to France, England and America, 
where it found advocates in Cousin, Carlyle, Emerson, &c. 
Hazy words, tortuous construction and obscure phraseology were 
considered philosophic profundity. To be one-third misunder- 
stood, one-third doubted and one-third apprehended were char- 
acteristic merits. However, this literary movement had the 
fortunate effect of emancipating authors from scholastic conven- 
tionalities, academic dictation and grammatic puerilities. Hum- 
boldt, Cuvier, Laplace, Sir Humphrey Davy, &c, succeeded in 
substituting pure science to metaphysics, so that within the last 
twenty-five years hardly any metaphysic writing appeared in 
Germany. It is yet somewhat indulged in by a few English and 
American writers. Transcendentalism modified language by ex- 
panding and changing the sense of words and by adding Greco- 
Latin neologisms. Those who admire Milton's " Paradise Lost," 
will find somewhat of a parallel in Klopstock's " Messiah." 
Some of Klopstock's odes are replete with tender and lofty ideas. 
We might pen eulogistic pages on each and all of these great 
authors ; but there are excellent translations, and whoever will 
peruse them will not regret the time spent therein. We have 
thus throughout this work incidentally alluded to German, French, 
Italian, Spanish and Portuguese literature ; because they advanced 
"pari passu " with the English, and constantly acted and reacted 
on each other. 

Lately appeared a movement, styled spiritualism, which has 
spread over the Christian world : it has already modified the 
meaning of many words and introduced new terms and phrase- 
ologies. Its literature is legion ; even the pulpit uses expressions 
from its vocabulary ; so do novelists and other literati. 

As a Table of some of the principal words from the English 
spiritual vocabulary will exhibit the versatility of England's idiom 
in that department, we give it here : 



$o6 



English Period, A.D. 1600-1 



Table of some of the Principal Words that Constitute the English Spiritual 

Vocabulary : 



Greco- 
Latin : 


Gotho- 
Germanic : 


Celtic : 


Semitic : 


Sanscrit : 


Ze7id : 


Deity 


God 


Deu-tatt 


Elohim 




Ormuzd 


Divinity 


Godhead 


(god-father, or 


Jehovah 


Avatar 


(good spirit) 


Creator 


Lord 


Teutas of the 


Jah 


(divine meta- 




Supreme 


Gospel 


Celts) 




morphosis) 




Omnipotent 


Almighty 










Omniscient 


Allwise 










Eternity 


Everlasting 










Infinite 












Immortality 


Soul 










Providence 












Angel 






Seraphim 






Spirit 


Ghost 




Cherubim 






Demon 












Genii 












Gnomes 


Hobgoblins 










Sylph 


Elf 










Nymph 


Seer 










Muses 


Soothsayer 










Prophets 












Oracle 


Wizard 










Sibyl 


Witch 










Penates 


Household Gods 










Bible 


Foreboding 




Koran (teaching) 


Vedas (know- 


Zendavesta 


Paradise 


Heaven 




Eden 


ledge) 




Hades 


Valhalla 




Satan 




Ahriman 


Celestial 










(bad spirit) 


Elysium 




happiness 








Felicity 












Tartarus 


Hell 










Destiny 












Redeemer 












Christ 












Psychology 












Psychologize 












Manes 












Martyrology 












Spiritualism 












Clairvoyant 












Medium 












Spheres 












Circles 












Inspiration 












Intuition 












Vision 












Magic 












Magician 












Omen 












Impression 












Presentiment 












Prophecy 












Devil 












Trinity 












Monotheism 












Theogony 












Theology 












Theocracy 












Theos jphy 












Christianity 












Beatitude 












Trance 












Astrology 












Talismans 












Shrine 












Reliquary 












Purgatory 












Necromancy 












Ordeal 












JLegends 












Apparition 












Saints 













Nineteenth Century. 507 

Here are about one hundred words that originated in, and 
addressed themselves to, man's highest faculties ; they flowed 
into English from Gotho-Germanic, Greco-Latin, Celtic, and 
Semitic sources ; hence, no language has as rich and varied a 
metaphysic and spiritual vocabulary : ancient, Medieval, and 
modern streams contributed their quota. This vocabulary con- 
stitutes the charm of the Bible, Zendavesta, Koran, and Vedas. 
Take from the Bible Elohim, who uttered the first language on 
Earth : " Let there be light ; " created the universe in six epochs* 
conversed with Adam and Noah, and told Abraham : " Get thee 
out of thy country ;" omit the angelic visitors in human form to 
Abraham and Lot ; the intercourse between Jehovah and Moses ; 
the poetic strains of seers and prophets ; and the spiritual expe- 
riences of Jesus Christ and his converse with seraphim from his 
birth to his death. Drop the pleasant dialogues between Or- 
muzd and Zoroaster from the Zendavesta, and do the same with 
the Koran and Vedas. 

Next expunge spirit entities, apparitions, impressions, influ- 
ences, omens, presentiments, dreams, forebodings, &c, from 
Socrates', Confucius', and Zoroaster's teachings ; from Plato's 
writings ; from Homer's Iliad and Odyssey ; from Virgil's Eneid; 
from Dante's Inferno; from Shakespeare's Dramas; from Mil- 
ton's ''Paradise Lost;" from Swedenborg's "Arcana Celestia;" 
from Klopstock's "Messiah;" from Herbert Spencer's "Prin- 
ciples of Psychology;" from Dumas' "Monte Christo," and 
numerous other romantic writings, which have of late been so 
full of spiritual terms and ideas ; then what have you left ? If 
materialists could thus obliterate the spiritual element from sacred 
and profane literature, they would beggar mankind of what is 
sublimest and most attractive in language ; for children and the 
unlettered listen eagerly to ghost stories, talismans, and fairy- 
tales ; while the aged and wise delight in thinking, speaking, and 
reading of spiritual themes here and hereafter. Skeptics may 
pretend to sneer at spirituality and assert materiality as the ulti- 
matum ; they do not and cannot consistently believe what they 
say and write ; for if they did, and would be consistent, they 
could not and would not face the vicissitudes of this life "three 

* Translate Hebrew torn by epoch, and not day of twenty-four hours. 



508 English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 

score and ten " years ; because to endure them with becoming 
fortitude, something higher than matter, something of the seer 
and stoic, is indispensable. 

History mentions periodic spiritual movements among tribes, 
nations, and races : the Shepherd Kings and Magi contemplated 
and questioned the stars concerning man's destiny, contrived a 
science styled astrology, on which the Phenicians, Greeks, and 
Romans based their theogony. Zoroaster, Pythagoras, Socrates, 
Plato, Numa, and Seneca, conceived and advocated a loftier 
morality than polytheism and stoicism. The skepticism of Pyr- 
rho and materialism of Epicurus were but anti-spiritual interludes. 
Christ, his apostles, and the Fathers of the Church, appeared and 
gave the world a higher standard of religion than Platonism ; but 
the Romish hierarchy carried saints, shrines, and reliquaries to 
such excess that a reaction became indispensable : that reaction 
came with Pierre de Bruys, A.D. 1147, WicklirTe, 1382, Huss, 
Luther, &c, who protested against numerous saints, shrines, and 
legends, and styled them ghost-stories and fairy-tales. Next 
Protestantism tried to abrogate all intermediary entities between 
God and man, and to deprive mankind of spiritual visitors in 
human form, tolerated and encouraged even by Judaism in Abra- 
ham's day. Lately modern spiritualism arose among the Protes- 
tants of the New World to check this stern and barren rationalism 
(which is but ancient stoicism in disguise), and to bring about a 
spiritualism free from excessive Protestantism and from priestly 
puerilities and legends — a spiritualism based on the purest of 
Christ's ethics, which challenge man's highest aspirations. 

The above Table shows seventy per cent. Greco-Latin, twenty 
per cent. Gotho-Germanic, eight per cent. Semitic, and two per 
cent. Celtic. Hence, the English spiritual vocabulary is nearly 
three-quarters Greco -Latin and one-quarter Gotho-Germanic. 
Some of these words apply to good, and some to bad entities or 
principles ; but, as Shakespeare tells us, "There is some soul of 
goodness in things evil" we cite both. 

The English language gained more prestige in the laying of 
the first Atlantic Cable from 1854 to 1866, than by any other 
previous event, action or contrivance. That Herculean enter- 
prise taxed the aggregate intellect of the scientists, engineers, 
statesmen and financiers of England and America; never was 



Nineteenth Century. 509 

there a sublimer conception than that of taming the Ocean by a 
submarine lightning speed language-carrier •* 

We might rehearse some of the thrilling details coincident with 
the conception, manufacture and laying of the Cable, as related 
by W. R. Russell, Robert, Dudley and H.M. Field, D.D., whose 
"History of the Atlantic Telegraph" written in a most attractive 
style, deserves perusal by all who are interested in national prog- 
ress. We might enlarge on the numerous failures and disasters 
to the combined English and American navies during the twelve 
years of experiments and trials, first, in laying the cable between 
Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, next between Newfoundland and 
Ireland, a distance of 1600 miles : but as most of them are well 
known, we only state that Lieutenant Maury's letter and naval 
report of February 22, 1854, and Professor Morse's prophetic 
lines to Hon. J. C. Spencer, Secretary of the Treasury, August 
to, 1843 : 

" The practical inference from this law is, that a telegraphic communica- 
tion, on the electro-magnetic plan, may with certainty be established across 
the Atlantic Ocean. Startling as this may now seem, I am confident the 
time will come when this will be realized." 

This prophecy was more than fulfilled ; for, after four failures 
and a cost of about $10,000,000, two cables were laid (1866) on 
that remarkable submarine plateau, where they have worked 
for twelve years, and are yet working, 1878, without showing signs 
of decay ; thus binding the two continents by an electro-magnetic 
grasp, that will not and cannot be severed, as long as English- 
speaking peoples live on this planet. 

Two telegraphic congratulations, handed to Mr. Cyrus W. 
Field about the same moment at St. Johns, Newfoundland, July 
1866, one from Egypt by M. de Lesseps, across the Mediterra- 



* After all, how poor language yet is, when it attempts to utter and pen 
thoughts and ideas of a sublimely conceived and vastly combined plan of 
Nature's forces, as the above ! We should and must have a language capable 
of uttering, writing and printing such a conception and achievement in one 
word, instead of five. Even Greek and Latin are inadequate to furnish ety- 
mons for such a combination. Perhaps Essays like Winter's " Etymologi- 
con," or Max Miiller's and Whitney's Studies of Sanscrit roots, may succeed 
in suggesting a method to form such vocables. 



510 English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 

nean and Atlantic, the other from California over the Rocky 
Mountains, deserve special attention, showing, as they do, that 
even the land of the Pharaohs and the land of the remotest 
pioneers of the New World can instantly be brought together 
by this most marvelous of scientific devices. 

In connection with this unparalleled triumph over obstacles 
that were styled impossibilities by would-be scientists, we must 
not overlook three indispensable agents : Gutta-Percha, the Deep 
Sea Sounding Apparatus of J. A. Brooke, lieutenant of U. S. N., 
and the Great Eastern, whose advent seems to have coincided 
with the demand for the Atlantic Cable. Gutta-Percha is the 
coagulated juice of the Isonandra gutta, a stately tree of about 
one hundred years' growth, in the Malayan Archipelago. This 
pliable, elastic, water-proof substance, discovered 1848, was 
necessary to insulate the wires of the Atlantic Cable. 

Brooke's Sounding Apparatus was used to ascertain the depth 
and character of the Atlantic between Ireland and Newfoundland, 
1854, and revealed that its bottom was a plateau of minute shells ; 
the Great Eastern, constructed without reference to the Atlantic 
Cable, proved to be the ship required to lay it in 1866. Thus, 
from one triumph to another, means seem to be mysteriously 
provided to prepare the human mind for higher and nobler 
themes : first the Marquis of Worcester's conception of the power 
of steam, 1660; next Watt's steam-engine, 1765; soon Fulton's 
steamboat, 1807 ; then the majestic train of cars, whose imposing 
look and velocity, caused an unsophisticated Indian to exclaim : 
" Hell in harness! " 

Shall we describe how England and America rewarded their 
scientists and workers, not for achieving martial victories, but for 
promoting "peace and good-will towards men?" Shall we cite 
the encouraging words of the Queen, knighting those who made, 
tested, engineered, laid, and worked the cable ? Shall we name 
the American whom the Queen mentioned as first and last in that 
vast enterprise ? Shall we read the unanimous vote of Congress 
(March 2, 1867), requesting the President to tender thanks and 
present a gold medal " to Cyrus W. Field? " As most of us know 
these details, let us pass to some of the unanticipated and yet 
untold benefits conferred upon the English-speaking populations 
and the world by that unique achievement : Who did, who could 



Nineteenth Ce7it?C7y. 5 T x 

anticipate that within a decade of years from that seemingly super- 
human task 52,500 miles of cable would gird the globe, that this 
vast submarine lightning-speed language-carrier would almost 
be entirely controlled by the English-speaking populations, that 
about nine-tenths of the distant submarine telegrams would be 
transmitted in English and translated into other idioms, a?id that, 
in spite of this seemingly complicated method, time and expense 
would be saved, because the English mind and language are 
specially fitted for telegraphing. Thus some Prescient Intelli- 
gence adapted means to ends that were beyond human foresight, 
and prepared the English language for universal adoption, pro- 
vided the English-speaking populations realize that their welfare 
and that of mankind are identic. 

Hear what the British statesman, Lord Stanley, then Minister 
of Foreign Affairs, said at the grand banquet given by the Liver- 
pool Chamber of Commerce, Oct. 1, 1866 : 

" We arc going to bring the people of England and the United States into 
a closer connection with one another than has ever existed before. That is, 
in my mind, a great gain. They have no opposite interest ; united they are a 
match for the world, while a quarrel between them would be a fearful injui-y, 
not only to themselves, but to the best interests of mankind. It is my deep 
conviction that on the union of the two nations more than on any other earthly 
thing, the future of civilization depends." 

Behold the unanimous thanks to Cyrus W. Field by the Com- 
pany, of which Peter Cooper was President and Wilson G. Hunt 
Secretary : 

, "To him more than any other man the world is indebted for this magnifi- 
cent instrument of good ; and but for him it would not, in all probability, be 
now in existence ; his services, though so great in themselves, and so valuable 
to this company, were rendered without any remuneration." 

Also a few words from the felicitous speech of A. A. Low, 
President of the New York Chamber of Commerce, at the banquet 
given by that body, Nov. 15, t866 : 

" We may fnirly claim that, from first to last, Cyrus W. Field has been 
more closely identified with the Atlantic Telegraph than any other living man, 
and his name and his fame, which the Queen of Great Britain has justly left 
to the care of the American government and people, will be proudly cherished 
and gratefully honored." 



512 English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 

Mr. Field's answer to his fellow-citizens tended to (i peace and 
good-will " in this key-note : 

" Let who will speak against England, I beg my countrymen to remember 
the ties of kindred ; and he is an enemy of his country and of the human race 
who would stir up strife between two nations that are one in race, in lan- 
guage, and in religion. I close with this sentiment : England and America — 
clasping hands across the sea — may this firm grasp be a pledge of friendship 
to all generations." (Enthusiastic applause — the audience rising and giving 
tln-ee cheers.) 

No doubt the Atlantic cable has been, is, and ever will be, ce- 
menting England and America ; for it is visible in Americans cele- 
brating Queen Victoria's birthday, and in the reception of ex- 
President Grant in England, 1877; yet only a decade has 
elapsed since that great triumph was achieved. 

It is but just to state here and now that the grand triumph of 
1866 originated in the laying of the cable between Nova Scotia 
and Newfoundland by five New York merchant-princes : Cyrus 
W. Field, Peter Cooper, Chandler White, Moses Taylor, Mar- 
shall O. Roberts, and Wilson G. Hunt, whose failures during 
two years, and ultimate success, 1856, strengthened Professor 
Morse's prediction and suggested the possibility of a similar con- 
nection between the Old and New World. The public-spirited 
directors of this company, of which, as previously stated, Peter 
Cooper was President, liberally used their influence and wealth 
to complete the grandest work of the nineteenth century. 

Another gigantic task was the connecting of the Atlantic and 
Pacific by rail, which soon linked America to Japan and China 
by steamships, while the waters of the Mediterranean and Red 
Sea were made to percolate the sandy desert, so as to form the 
Suez Canal. Now one more triumph, a ship-canal across the 
Isthmus of Panama, is reserved for the English-speaking popula- 
tions. After Nature's arcana have been thus explored by science, 
and seemingly insurmountable obstacles overcome for man's phy- 
sical, mental, and linguistic progress, we may rationally ask what 
next? The answer is already half developed : man will transmit 
with his telegrams the sympathetic accents of his voice ; London 
and New York will be within speaking distance by means of the 
recently invented, but yet to be perfected Telephofi and Phono* 



Nineteenth Century. 513 

graph ; then the simplest, most felicitously combined, most tele- 
graphic language, which is the English, will become universal. 

In this age of wonders, the philanthropic Dr. S. G. Howe, of 
Boston, discovered a method of teaching the blind how to read 
by running the tips of their fingers along raised letters. His suc- 
cess with Laura Bridgeman attracted the world's attention to his 
method. In 1832 he opened the " Perkins Institution for the 
Blind," and devoted his life to the education of the blind and 
idiotic, whose faculties and language he wonderfully improved. 
The New York Bible House prints Bibles with raised letters, 
which are really curious. When we see one of the five senses 
thus substituted for another, namely, touch for sight, we may 
really exclaim : " What is there not in a touch ? " Here one part 
of language, denied by Nature, was supplied by art. Dr. Howe 
might truly say with Job xxix., 15 : " I was eyes to the blind." 

As the sciences styled Sociology and Political Economy have 
lately added many new terms and phraseologies to language, and 
placed volumes on the shelves of our libraries, we must allude to 
them. Rousseau's "Inequality Among Men" 1753, and Adam 
Smith's "Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Natioiis" 1776, 
attracted scores of writers. 

Malthus' "Future Improvement of Society" 1798; Fourier's 
"Theory of Four Movemeiits and General Destinies" 1808; 
Robert Owen's "New View of Society" 181 2 ; Saint Simon's 
"Reorganization of Labor" 18 14; Louis Blanc's "Organiza- 
tion of Labor" 1840, &c. Malthus' principle that population 
increases in geometrical progression, whereas the supply of 
food and other necessaries of life only increase in arithmetical 
progression, startled publicists, statesmen, and rulers. We think 
enough grows on this planet to feed, clothe, and house all 
classes of the human family comfortably. The only thing needed 
is a just and equitable distribution of all the necessaries of 
life and of the labor required to produce them. The social 
questions and theories culminated in the upheaval of 1848, which 
revolutionized most of the European nations, who became tinged 
with socialism, communism, pauperism, capital against labor, &c, 
terms that conveyed to the masses an idea of equal division 
of production and wealth. The motto, " Liberty, Equality, and 
Fraternity," intoxicated young and old, ignorant and learned. 



5H English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 

Proudhon, one of the philosophers and legislators of that period 
even declared and published the strange anomaly : "La propriete 
c'est le vol " (properly is theft), as though a man who would clear a 
plot of ground, plough, cultivate, and reap it, could commit a 
theft by so doing ! ! ! The only result of such teaching can be 
social chaos, which can be averted by general education alone. 
Let all be educated according to their capacities ; let all be 
taught Zoroaster's "Do unto others as you would have them do 
unto you" and Christ's "Love thy neighbor as thyself,'' 1 &c. All 
can be taught and all can understand these simple precepts, 
which, if practised, will solve all the intricate questions lately 
started by socialists, political economists, and philanthropists. 
Let us educate our children with the idea, that labor of every 
kind ennobles and idleness degrades human nature ; that self- 
sacrifice and generosity exalt, whereas selfishness and egotism 
brutalize a man ; let them not only know, but practise these 
sublime truths ; then the next generation will be able to look 
into these social problems and legislate wisely, justly, and equita- 
bly on them. The phrases, "rich against poor" " capital against 
labor" "eight hours' work" &c., have but tended to irritate, 
disturb and unsettle society and aggravate things without bene- 
fiting young or old, rich or poor, ignorant or learned. If those 
who now innocently utter " capital against labor" could be made 
to realize that capital is but labor laid up in improved lands and 
farms, villages, towns, cities, houses, stores, manufactures, roads, 
telegraphs, ships, &c, they would see that labor thus laid up 
cannot be against labor to be performed. History teaches that 
tribes, communities and nations, who had least of such capital, 
were savage or barbarous, whereas those who had most were 
civilized, enlightened and prosperous ; witness our Scythian 
ancestors, the American Indians, Congo Negroes, &c, who never 
founded cities, constructed roads, built ships, favored interna- 
tional intercourse and commerce. Thus instruct the masses, 
who now utter these disturbing phrases, and the next generation 
will understand the questions at issue and regulate first the labor 
to be performed and next the production derived therefrom. As 
to Malthus' geometric progression of population, and arithmetic 
progression of food and necessaries of life, even if true, society 
has reason, wisdom and power to regulate both by proper educa- 



Nineteenth Century. 515 

lion and legislation. We cannot give up the idea that enough 
grows to feed, clothe and house all ; but men must be educated 
to renounce selfishness and practise self-denial for the good of 
all. When men can be educated so as to understand that trust 
between nations and between individuals, in other words, public 
credit is the only source of wealth, they will cease to discuss and 
quarrel about capital and labor, gold, silver, paper or greenbacks 
as a medium of exchange ; for they will know that all must have 
for their basis trust and credit, which, like the barometer, are 
disturbed by the least social agitation and only thrive during 
calm, "peace and good-will to men." Even the present stagna- 
tion is partly due to a mental collapse after the over-excitement 
of the war, first in the United States, next between France and 
Germany, then between Turkey and Russia, — and partly to dis- 
harmony between employers and laborers, and not to any real 
lack of capital or necessaries of life, of which there is a surplus. 
International confidence and harmony between employers and 
employees would soon restore prosperity. Hence, it depends on 
mankind to say when activity and commerce shall take a new 
start. Theocracy proved a failure in Palestine ages ago ; mili- 
tarism based on "black broth " and communism was tried at 
Sparta and was found wanting ; royalism, patrician republic and 
Augustan imperialism were tried at Rome and signally failed ; for 
the people, as related by Salvian, who was an eye-witness, hailed 
and welcomed the Goths and Vandals to escape from military rob- 
beries and exactions of corrupt officials. Feudalism prevailed 
during the Middle Ages, but it satisfied neither rulers nor people ; 
for the masses began to think ; and Napoleon said : " When bayo- 
nets think, it is difficult to govern." Government by consent has 
been on trial in America and France ; will it succeed ? Fourierism, 
labor associations, and theories to increase national wealth and 
diminish population, are proving a failure. Eight hours' labor has 
diminished production twenty per cent, and increased the necessa- 
ries of life in the same ratio for poor and rich. Now the masses 
and their deluded leaders suggest communism, which portends a 
return to Spartan "black broth," chaos, despotism. Hence, poor 
humanity has only been rotating to reach again the spot where it 
started. As universal education, based on self-denial, generosity, 
simplicity and frugality, has never been practically tried, let us give 



$i6 English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 

it a fair trial ; for in the present state of the world it is the only- 
hope for suffering humanity. Let children be taught, that it is 
glorious to make others comfortable and happy ; and let the 
young grow up with the idea that it is wrong that one man should 
spend a million while others are wanting the necessaries of life, 
and that one individual is gorgeously dressed, while others go 
almost naked. We think in these United States the strong com- 
mon sense of our mechanics and farmers will adjust matters by 
restoring harmony between labor laid up or capital and labor to 
be perfor?ned. 

A most attractive and important theme remains : woman, whose 
capacities were extolled, and whose claims were urged through- 
out this work, covering fourteen successive centuries, A.D. 449- 
1878. The Mosaic Record styles woman " a help-meet " (Gen. ii. 
18), and mentions but four antediluvian women: Eve, Adah, Zil- 
lah, and Naamah (Gen. iv. 19 and 22). Thenceforth ages passed 
and the deluge intervened ; yet no other woman's name of that 
long proto-historic night reached posterity till Sarah accompanied 
Abraham to his western home in Canaan. She surely deserved 
to be called "help-meet." From Sarah, who became the post- 
diluvian representative of her sex, woman continued to occupy a 
more conspicuous place in history ; for the Jews had Miriam and 
Deborah, whose poetic strains in the Sacred Record have been 
delighting readers about four thousand years. Under Deborah, 
as judge and ruler, the Jews were happy and prosperous. Egypt 
worshiped Isis, and India Ishi, which were but Hebrew Isha 
(woman) Gen. ii. 23. Assyria gloried in Semiramis. Two 
Canaanite or Phenician princesses, Dido and her sister Anna 
(which in Hebrew means gracious), left their native city, Tyre, 
and sought a home in Africa, where they founded Carthage, which 
became the greatest maritime state of antiquity. Hellenicus, in 
his History of Persia, 410 B.C., tells us that Atossa, daughter of 
Cyrus the Great, and queen of Cambyses, was the first person who 
wrote epistles. Hence, ancient Persia had literary women, 500 
B.C. Esther saved her race and country from destruction, 400 
B.C. Greece points with pride to Sappho, Corinna, Agnodice, 
Hypatia, &c. 

Rome was a military despotism where women were ever in- 
triguing without aspiring to be heroic or literary. The Maries 



Nineteenth Century. 517 

clung to Christ after the disciples had deserted him. Thus 
women remained faithful where men sneaked away. It is re- 
corded that Mary composed and sang the beautiful hymn styled 
•Magnificat." Christ's ethics settled woman's social and moral 
status; yet her educational, civil, and political rights remained in 
abeyance. Mahomet made woman a doll and slave, which she 
has been wherever a Moslem ruled, except in India, where the 
Mogul Emperors married Hindu women. 

Among our Scytho-Germanic ancestors in Asia, woman's rights 
were fully recognized, as related by Herodotus, who mentions 
Tomiris as a great queen and the Amazons as heroines. All 
their European descendants, whether Goths or Germans, re- 
spected woman's claims, except the Franks, who established the 
salic law, excluding women from the throne, which stands to this 
day as a huge injustice in the statutes of France, especially when 
we consider the glorious reigns of Margaret in Scandinavia, Isa- 
bella in Spain, Elizabeth in England, Katharine I. in Russia, 
Maria Theresa in Austria, Ahalia Bai in India, and Queen Vic- 
toria in Britain, and that France glories in Joan of Arc. 

Women may point with pride to the Empress Eudoxia, A.D. 
1068, who wrote "Ionia" a kind of pantheon of divinities, heroes, 
and sages ; also a poem on Ariadne ; a treatise on Occupations 
fit for Princesses ; one on Monastic Life ; and one for the benefit 
of the sex in general. Of these only " Ionia" remains, a copy of 
which is in the library at Paris. Strange, no Countess Mary Arun- 
del, Madame Dacier, or Bettina, tried to translate this female 
intellectual gem ! As we elsewhere mentioned Anna Comnena's 
"Alexiad" we only allude to the accomplished Greek princess here. 

India had intellectual and literary women from remote an- 
tiquity; for the Vedas contain hymns and odes by Romasa, Lop- 
amudra, and Visvavara of the Chhandas period ; Gargi dis- 
cussed philosophic questions with Hindu sages at the court of 
Janaka, who was the Solomon of India. Salvana visited distant 
countries in search of knowledge. Rukmini corresponded with 
the Hindu avatar, Krishna. Every Hindu woman prays that she 
might be like Arandhati, who was intellectually and morally the 
Hindu model woman. Those who read Fredericka Richardson's 
translation of the Ramayana will readily understand in what es 
teem the early Hindus held woman ; for there Sita is portrayed 



518 English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 

with the most exalted female attributes. Hindu women have 
been intellectual and literary to our day; for Mira Bai, who 
lived in the reign of the Mogul Emperor Akbar, A.D. 1590, wrote 
poems and odes, unsurpassed by any early female bard. Sahaji 
Bai, sister of the Hindu Reformer, Charandas, composed Sagas 
Prakas and Sala Nirmaya, about A.D. 1754. Let us not omit to 
state that since the Mogul Emperors conquered India, they 
usually married Hindu princesses, who gave to their progeny 
qualities not possessed by Mahometan women. The fair sex of 
India was not only intellectual and literary, but heroic and prac- 
tical, as may be realized by the following quotations from Tek- 
chand Thakur's Ramaranjika, Calcutta, i860 : 

" When Delhi was invaded by the Sultan of Ghazni, the Chohan Emperor 
sees his wife, who thus addresses him : ' Who asks women for advice ? The 
world deems their understanding shallow ; even when truth issues from their 
lips, none listen thereto. Yet what is the world without women ? The men 
of wisdom, the astrologers, can from the books calculate the motion and course 
of the planets ; but in the book of woman they are ignorant, and this is not a 
saying of to-day, it ever has been so.; our book has not been marked ; there- 
fore to hide their ignorance they say, in woman there is no wisdom. Yet 
woman shares your joys and sorrows ; even when you depart for the mansion 
of the sun, we part not. ' The Chohan felt the force of her inspiration. He 
marched in battle array, leaving her to head Delhi's heroes. She, however, 
made up her mind to lose him, and lived on only water, saying : ' I shall see 
him again in the region of Surya, but never more in Jognipor ' (Delhi). Her 
lord fought and fell, and she mounted the funeral pyre." 

So much for the heroic Hindu empress. Now read about the 
practical Hindu princess : 

" Ahalya Bai, the widow of Malhar Rao, who lived A.D. 1754. She had 
a son, who was a foolish boy, and she wept openly for his follies. He died, 
however, at an early age. She possessed a daughter, who became a widow; 
and as the latter had also lost her only son, she was sick of this life, and reso- 
lute in burning herself as a sati. The remonstrances of Ahalya were of no 
avail; and she had to witness the painful scene. She assumed the govern- 
ment of the country, and sat in open darbar at the age of thirty. She was 
remarkable for her patience and unwearied attention, in the consideration of 
all measures affecting the welfare of the country. She respected private 
rights sacredly, listened to every complaint personally, and studying the in- 
terests of all classes, she was a great advocate for moderate assessment, and 
rejoiced at the prosperity of her subjects," &c. 

During her reign of thirty years, public edifices were reared, 



Nineteenth Century. 519 

wells dug, and a road over the Vindya Mountains constructed. 
The Hindu historian adds : 

" She was not only humane to man, but also to the brute creation. The 
oxen ploughing the fields were refreshed with water; the birds and fish also 
partook of her compassion." 

To her the philotheric Bergh may point as an exemplar. 

It seems Asiatic female sagacity was not confined to India ; it 
expanded eastward ; for Lieutenant Murray Day, of the United 
States Navy, who was employed by the Emperor of Japan to 
survey some parts of his Empire, told me that the present Em- 
press astonished him by her knowledge of astronomy. When 
he had arranged everything at the imperial observatory for watch- 
ing the recent transit of Venus, the Empress took a deep in- 
terest in the observations and asked him questions, which con- 
vinced him that she was a highly educated woman. Also at 
court levees Mr. and Mrs. Day found her Majesty exceedingly 
ladylike and cultivated. Hence, the women of those eastern 
barbarians have never been far behind their western sisters. 

In America, Great Britain, France, and Switzerland, where, 
within the last two centuries, women improved every chance to 
educate themselves in the classics and in national affairs, they 
are fully prepared for equal educational, civil and political rights. 
These countries have reached a social status that can hardly 
progress, unless wives, mothers, daughters, and sisters can go 
arm in arm with their husbands, sons, fathers, and brothers to 
vote who shall tax them, collect their money, disburse it, and 
govern their country, state, city, town, &x. ; for in these nations 
women have evinced much genius, as proved by Madame Des 
houlieres, Mrs. Hemans, Madame Dacier, Miss Edgeworth 
Madame de Stael, Elizabeth Smith, Mrs. Somerville, Mrs 
Sigourney, Caroline Herschel, Miss Sedgwick, Madame Guizot 
Miss Mitchell, Miss Nightingale, Dix, Hosmer, Faithful, Gilbert 
Rosa Bonheur, &c, whose literary, scientific, artistic, and phi 
lanthropic labors challenge the world's admiration. x\s some of 
these lady writers took a high position in science, we mention a 
few of their achievements : Mrs. Somerville epitomized and 
translated Laplace's " Mecanique Celeste," wrote " Connexion 
of the Physical Sciences" and "Physical Geography," was 



520 English Period, A.D. 1 600-1 878. 

elected honorary member of the Royal Geographical Society, 
and received a yearly pension of ^"300 for her signal services to 
science. Even Humboldt wrote a complimentary letter to this 
English lady scientist. Mrs. Sabine translated Humboldt's " Kos- 
mos " into English, a herculean task for a lady. Miss Mitchell, 
after issuing several astronomic treatises, wrote an essay on a 
telescopic comet she discovered, 1847, for which the King of 
Denmark awarded her a gold medal. This American lady scientist 
is now professor of astronomy at Vassar College. 

We must not forget Miss Elstob, who, realizing that her coun- 
trymen had neglected Anglo-Saxon, the mother-tongue of English, 
from A.D. 1154 to 1700, drew attention to this omission by writ- 
ing a grammar for Anglo-Saxon students, 1715. . Hence, the 
English-speaking populations are indebted to a lady scholar for 
the linguistic treasures discovered in Anglo-Saxon literature. She 
also translated Alfric's "Homilies" from Anglo-Saxon, and Scu- 
dery's "Essay on Glory" from French into English. Charlotte 
Smith's popular works, among which "Romance of Real Life" 
ranks highest, deserves attention. No less a personage than Sir 
Walter Scott was her biographer. Napoleon's and Charlotte 
Smith's biographies by the same distinguished author are contrasts 
— the former being described as a monster, the latter as an angel. 
Frederika Richardson's version of Valmiki's "Ramayana" shows 
that English women have even become students of Sanscrit. 
Her translation is popularly called " Iliad of the East." The 
varied productions of that remarkable authoress, known as Woll- 
stonecraft, raise woman's mind to heights that defy the sneers of 
supercilious critics. 

We reluctantly confess that in Germany, women, being not only 
"help-meets," but drudges, while their fathers, brothers, husbands, 
and sons play soldier, have not been able to aspire to literary, 
artistic, and philanthropic fame; true,' Bettina's " Giinderode" 
Miihlbach's and Reinberg's Essays reached beyond the Father- 
land. Also Anna Schurmann's learning flashed across Germany's 
horizon. Switzerland gave birth to Madame Necker and Angelica 
Kauffmann, and Sweden to Frederika Bremer. About two cen- 
turies ago Italy saw literary and artistic celebrities in Propertia 
de Rossi, Vittoria Colona, Maria Bassi, &c. ; but they vanished 
without successors. Holland may justly glory in Katharina Bil- 



Nineteenth Century. 521 

derdijk, author of " Elfrida," Iphigenia, and translator of Southey's 
"Roderick." Spanish, Portuguese, Mexican, and South Ameri- 
can women have as yet displayed no sign of literary aspiration ; 
perhaps priestcraft is at the bottom of this intellectual female 
stagnation ? Recently Russian women went to other countries 
to study, which surely evinces progress in the female Moscovite 
mind ; but a suspicious government interdicted it. We must not 
overlook here the philanthropic French Martha, who was honored 
and rewarded at Paris, 1814, by the Emperors of Russia and 
Austria, and by the Kings of France and Spain, for nursing with 
equal care the wounded of the belligerent nations. As such 
benevolence adds a divine attribute to humanity, we wonder not 
that emperors and kings noticed it. 

The Sarahs, who accompanied the Pilgrims to Plymouth, A.D. 
1620, were intellectual and heroic women, and deserve to be 
ranked with Sarah, Dido, and the Maries of old. Even the In- 
dian princess, Pocahontas, cast her lot with that of England's 
illustrious daughters. Also America's Revolutionary women : 
ATrs. Washington, Adams, Hancock, &c, must be counted 
among eminent English-speaking women, not only for their in- 
tellectual attainments, but for the heroic endurance and spirit 
they displayed during the protracted struggle. Mrs. Adams' 
" Letters," mentioning directly and indirectly the aspirations of 
Revolutionary heroes and the status of European society, de- 
serve a high place among the literary archives of that period, 
because they show a rare degree of social and political discrimina- 
tion. Thus may the English-speaking populations look back over 
fourteen centuries, dotted with female stars, among which Bertha, 
Ethelburga, A.D. 626; Elfleda, 900; Countess Mary Arundel, 
I 54°5 Queen Elizabeth, 1600; Mrs. Hemans, Mrs. Sigourney, 
Mrs. Somerville, and Miss Mitchell shine with peculiar luster. 
To omit Anne of Bohemia., daughter of the Emperor Charles 
IV., and Queen of Richard II., styled " Good Queen Anne," 
A.D. 1382, would be a solecism; for she stood by Wickliffe in 
his opposition to the abuses of the Roman hierarchy, and used 
her influence on the side of Reform. 

As women's apostolic and civilizing capacities have been pre- 
viously mentioned, we only name here Helena, mother of Con- 
stantine the Great, who saw the guiding star and pointed it out 



522 English Period, A.D. 1600 -1878. 

to her beloved son, about A.D. 312 ; Placidia among the Goths, 
A.D. 414; Libussa among the Bohemians, A.D. 418; Clotilda 
among the Franks, A.D. 496; Bertha, Ethelburga, and Achfleda 
among the Anglo-Saxons, from A.D. 570 to 653 ; Theodelinda 
among the Lombards, A.D. 600; Dombrowska among the Poles, 
A.D. 965 ; Anna among the Russians, A.D. 988 ; and Kama- 
malu among the Sandwich Islanders, A.D. 1820. Hence, hun- 
dreds of millions of Earth's children, now scattered over the 
globe, point to eminent women as the morning star of their pres- 
ent civilization. These eleven apostolic women carried the civil- 
izing torch of Christianity farther and to greater numbers than 
ever did the Twelve Apostles ; yet they never received one-twelfth 
of the credit. Aye, in the very countries that have been Christian- 
ized through woman's influence, women have been, and are now 
disfranchised ! When will France, Italy, Russia, and the ninety 
English-speaking millions disown that ingratitude and do justice 
to women ? Even in the so-called Republics : United States, 
France, Switzerland, Mexico, Peru, &c, women are to this day 
denied equal rights with men. In the United States the fair sex 
study the learned professions, science, and the fine arts ; the 
pulpit and the forum echo their learning ; journals and periodi- 
cals are filled with their essays. They also evince superior 
business tact ; for wherever the Government employed women 
in the Mint, Treasury, Post-Office, they have shown themselves 
more trustworthy and industrious than men ; so they have in 
telegraph offices and other affairs, thus displaying not only lit- 
erary, but financial capacities. 

After granting the elective franchise to emigrants from the 
Old World, and to the untutored children of Ham, it might be 
advisable to invite woman's quick, intuitive sagacity to assist in 
governing our 40,000,000. Statistics show but one woman in 
four criminals, which is a valid reason why women should per- 
form and exercise all the political duties, so as to see the one 
female culprit and the three male criminals adequately dealt 
with in and out of court. At a recent Communistic meeting in 
Philadelphia, June 10, 1878, only one woman was present, which 
conclusively prov*es, that American women do not readily indorse 
Utopian theories. Most of our women are more intellectual 
and sober than men. Thousands of them do business and pay 



Nineteenth Century. 523 

taxes " without representation "// Widow B. pays state, county, 
and city tax, and forty per cent, duty to the United States on every 
silk, and twenty per cent, on every calico dress she wears ; yet 
she cannot vote ; while Patrick, her coachman, and Sambo, her 
waiter, who pay no tax, can vote. Thus has the fundamental 
principle, which caused the Revolution of 1776, been violated 
with regard to women. Hence, to say nothing of the wrong 
done within the first hundred years of the great Republic, let us 
redress it by calling, even at this late hour, the wisdom of our 
mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters into our National, State, 
city, and town councils. 

Tlie Senate Committee of June 13, 1878, composed of nine 
members, considered the petitions for woman suffrage, and de- 
clined to recommend action thereon, because it would create 
several millions of voters, all incapable of performing military duty 
to enforce the laws they would help to make ; because the peti- 
tions contain but 30,000 signers, and because any State may grant 
the right of suffrage to women. The idea of six out of nine United 
States Senators, to whom the country should look for consummate 
national wisdom, issuing such special pleading and overlooking 
the fundamental principle, " Taxation without representation" 
on the ground of military disability, insufficient petitioners, and 
on the ground of its belonging to States' rights. What a libel on 
common sense ! It would be difficult to find six similar incapaci- 
ties in a jury of any country town in the United States. We 
think one tax-paying woman has a right to demand representa- 
tion for herself and sex ; and as soon as her demand reaches the 
country's legislative body, that body is in honor bound to grant, 
not only her individual, but her sex's right, because based on a 
universally conceded principle, for which every man, woman, and 
child fought, suffered, and triumphed one hundred years ago. 
Even the Masonic fraternity excludes woman from its ranks, 
which seems an anomaly, for it claims to be liberal, just, high- 
minded, and practical. 

Now, women have but quietly to persevere in their lofty aspira- 
tions, and educate their sons and brothers to realize their equal, 
if not superior talents, and full concession of their long-deferred 
claims will and must follow as a necessary sequence ; for already 
three senators out of nine have indorsed woman suffrage. Already 



524 English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 

men begin to feel and appreciate woman's signal services. In 
France the Code Napoleon gives to woman a full half of all the 
property acquired by husband and wife. Thus have liberal 
countries produced intellectual and literary women ; whereas 
illiberal States have nurtured intriguing dolls and nobodies. 

The world's reformation depends on woman, for men have 
done their best and their worst without success ; now they seem 
to be incapable to ameliorate or destroy humanity. Hence, if 
woman, with her gentler disposition and quieter perseverance, 
turns her mind to literature, science, art, politics, inventions, and 
mechanics, she can render incalculable service to all that is en- 
nobling and glorious in human experience and progress. 

We close our essay on Woman in History by Fitz- Green 
Halleck's beautiful " Ode to Woman " : 

" Lady, although we have not met, 

And may not meet, beneath the sky ; 
And whether thine are eyes of jet, 
Gray, or dark blue, or violet, 

Or hazel — Heaven knows, not I ; 

Whether around thy cheek of rose 

A maiden's glowing locks are curled, 
And to some thousand kneeling beaux 
Thy frown is cold as winter's snows, 

Thy smile is worth a world ; 

Or whether, past youth's joyous strife, 

The calm of thought is on thy brow, 
And thou art in thy noon of life, 
Loving and loved, a happy wife, 

And happier mother now — 

I know not : but, whate'er thou art, 

Whoe'er thou art, were mine the spell, 
To call Fate's joys or blunt his dart, 
There should not be one hand or heart 

But served or wished thee well. 

For thou art woman — with that word 
Life's dearest hopes and memories come, 

Truth, Beauty, Love — in her adored, 

And Earth's lost Paradise restored 
In the green bower of home." 



Nineteenth Century. 525 

What is man's love ? His vows are broke, 

Even while his parting kiss is warm ; 
But woman's love all change will mock, 
And, like the ivy round the oak, 

Cling closest in the storm. 

And well the Poet at her shrine 

May bend, and worship while he woos ; 
To him she is a thing divine, 
The inspiration of his line, 

His Sweetheart and his Muse. 

If to his song the echo rings 

Of Fame — 'tis woman's voice he hears; 
If ever from his lyre's proud strings 
Flow sounds like rush of angel-wings, 
'Tis that she listens while he sings, 

With blended smiles and tears : 

Smiles — tears — whose blessed and blessing power. 

Like sun and dew o'er summer's tree, 
Alone keeps green through Time's long hour, 
That frailer thing than leaf or flower, 

A poet's immortality.* 

Our thirty Extracts and Tables of this century are so chosen 
as to represent, not only literature and science, but the pulpit, 
school-room, press, forum, and fireside. The notes that accom- 
pany them deserve perusal, showing, as they do, the comparative 
status and progress during the Three Periods of the English 
language and literature. 



* The vocabulary of this poem furnishes twenty-two per cent. Greco-Latin, 
seventy-seven Gotho-Germanic, and one per cent. Celtic, as will appear in our 
Bird's Eye View of the poetic style of writing. 



526 English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 

Extract from Byron's "Lines written beneath an Elm in the 
Churchyard at H arrow -on-the- Hill" Sept. 2, 1807. 

" Spot of my youth ! where hoary branches sigh, 
Swept by the breeze that fans the cloudless sky; 
Where now alone I muse, who oft have trod, 
With those I loved, thy soft and verdant sod ; 
With those who, scattered* far, perchance deplore, 
Like me, the happy scenes they knew before : 
Oh! as I trace again thy winding hill, 
Mine eyes admire, my heart adores thee still, 
Thou drooping Elm! beneath whose boughs I lay, 
And frequent mused the twilight hours away ; 
Where, as they once were wont, my limbs recline ; 
But ah! without the thoughts, which then were mine, 
How do thy branches, moaning to the blast, 
Invite the bosom to recall the past, 
And seem to whisper as they gently swell : 
Take, while thou canst, a lingering, last farewell ; 
When fate shall chill at length this fever'd breast, 
And calm its cares," &c. 

144 common words, among which 

The occurs 8 times, 

a " I " 

1 " 

2 " 
o " 

" 

3 " 

1 " 

9 " 

7 " 

4 " 



45 
other particles, 32 

77 particles. 

Hence, Byron's emotional poetry requires about 144 common words to 
furnish 100 different words, and averages about fifty-three per cent, particles 
and thirty-one per cent, repetitions. 



of 




u 


to 




<( 


from 




a 


in 




tt 


with 




tt 


by 




u 


Pro. of 1 st 


person 


tt 


2d 


a 


u 


3d 


" 


(( 


be, aux. 




a 


have, aux. 




a 


shall, " 




u 


will, " 




<( 


may, " 




u 


do, " 




tt 


that 




tc 


and 




tt 



Nineteenth Century. 



527 



f 






1- 

•5 






<j 00 


15 




J!* < 


E 


C/2 


g> 


g 


O 






s 






n 


*^ 


cd 


3 


H 




< 


S* 


\ 


a 






< ) 








« 8 


V 


m 

Pi 
> 




3 


H 






S 
5 




Ph 


^ 




< 


-5! 


1 


6 


■^ 


rt 


& 


5J 


M 


< 



§ 



s 






as £ 

</5 > 



■■ ..j 3 ,< p g •• ■• 



c S 
h5P 



OOCJ 



-oJ2 S 



£ rt n 



5J 



I sail 3 J a 






ft 



o d »- ™ .. S2 s.s « 



* e Si Si 



*.±i rt -s- 



*1 

^1 










branches, n. 

breeze 

muse, n. 

verdant 

perchance 

deplore 

scenes 

trace, v. 

admire 

adores 

frequent, adj. 

hours 

invite 

past, n. 

gently 

fever' d 

calm, v. 


r~ 




cloudless 

recline 

recall 

fate 

cares, n. 


10 




>. 


- 







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U '5 



•b. 



o 12 

J8 
-s >> 

O « 
■w"a 

-c c 
boa 
•»Xi 

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M 






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Q 


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■* 






a 






3 
J3 


6 




>, 


S 


hJ 


-C 


fi 











iO 




O 




M 


a 






n 








< 


a 








S 







p 


fr 


PQ c 






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& 



II 



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528 



English Period, A.D. 1 600-1 



Extract from Scott 's u Rob RoyT 

" Warmed by such tales I looked upon the Scottish people during my child- 
hood as a race hostile by nature to the more southern inhabitants of this 
realm ; and this view of the matter was not much corrected by the language 
which my father sometimes held with respect to them. He had engaged in 
some large speculations concerning oak-woods, the property of Highland 
proprietors, and alleged, that he found them much more ready to make bargains 
and extort earnest of the purchase money, than punctual in complying, on 
their side, with the terms of the engagements. The Scotch mercantile men, 
whom he was under the necessity of employing, as a sort of middle-men, on 
these occasions, were also suspected by my father of having secured, by one 
means or other, more than their own share of the profit, which ought to have 
accrued. In short, if Mabel complained of the Scottish arms in ancient times, 
Mrs. Osbaldistone inveighed no less against the arts of these modern Sinons ; 
and between them, though without any," &c. 

168 common words, among which 



The 




occurs 


H 


times. 


a 




a 


2 


u 


of 




(t 


12 


u 


to 




u 


4 


cc 


from 




u 





ct 


in 




u 


4 


(( 


with 




it 


3 


(C 


by 




u 


6 


a 


Pronoun, 


1st 


person ' ' 


4 


a 


it 


2d 


<( (< 





a 


u 


3d 


U it 


8 


tt 


be, aux. 




n 


3 


tt 


have, " 




a 


3 


a 


shall, " 




tt 





tt 


will, " 




a 





tt 


may, " 




a 





a 


do, " 




u 





u 


that 




it 


i 


" 


and 




it 


4 
68 


tt 






other particles, 


34 










102 particles. 



Hence, Scott's style requires about 168 common words to obtain ioo differ- 
ent words, and averages about sixty-one per cent, particles and forty per cent, 
repetitions. 



Nineteenth Century. 



529 



5. -5 



r H o 

^0 B 



i 1 

it 



I 



Sw 


5 








< 










en «o 


o H 


u 






-;0 


h 




c 


^H 


s 




..§.. 




U3 


"jtn c •• •• 




3 5 

U jJ 


Latin 

French 

Spanis 

Anglo- 

Germa 

Gothic 

Scotch 




p< 
















3h 








K 2 








< O 







II 

3 2 6 

c 



2 p 



5 « fcuD °! 
<o S "i 



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■3 -a ^ u 4>53 " 3 B 



sJlljgsl 



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S *■ 



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1- 



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rt.SJ "S 5, jj m b -3 « ft 5 «■« o 



s *> c 

.MPJ2Sg > SM - i 



m.^ 



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•si 



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>- co 

0°° 

a ii 

m o 

few 

ftO 



8§ 



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"« p 

J? I- 
M ft 

Is 

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530 



English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 



Extract from Mrs. Hemans' " The Lost Pleiad." 

" And is there glory from the Heavens departed ? 
O void unmarked ! — thy sisters of the sky 

Still hold their place on high, 
Though from its rank thine orb so long hath started, 
Thou, that no more art seen of mortal eye. 

Hath the night lost a gem ? the regal night ; 
She wears her crown of old magnificence, 

Though thou art exiled thence ; 
No desert seems to part those urns of light, 
Midst the far depths of purple gloom intense. 

They rise in joy, the starry myriads burning, — 
The shepherd greets them on his mountains free, 

And from the silvery sea 
To them the sailor's watchful eye is turning — 
Unchanged they rise, they have not mourned for thee. 

Couldst thou be shaken from thy radiant place 
E'en as a dew-drop from the myrtle spray, 

Swept by the wind away ? 
Wert thou not peopled by some glorious race, 
And was there power to smite them with decay ? 

Why, who shall talk of thrones of sceptres," &c. 









159 common wo 


•ds, among which 








The 






occurs 


II 


times. 


have, 


aux 




occurs 3 


times. 


a 






<« 


2 


<« 


shall, 


tt 






1 


<» 


of 






(< 


5 


(< 


will, 


(( 









tt 


to 






u 


3 


<( 


may 


tt 









u 


from 






tt 


5 


it 


do 


tt 









it 


in 






(« 


1 


<< 


that 


t« 






I 


tt 


with 






It 


1 


(< 


and 








3 


tt 


by 






tt 


2 


tt 










61 




Pro. 
it 


I St 

2d 


person 
tt 


<« 
(( 




8 


IC 


other 


part 


icles, 


25 




k 


3d 


<< 


(< 


9 


»< 










86 particles. 


be, aux 




(( 


6 


tt 















Hence, Mrs. Heman's poetry requires about 159 common words to obtain 
100 different words, and averages about 54 per cent, particles and 37 per cent, 
repetitions. 



Nineteenth Century. 



531 



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o < 

w > 



■♦00 N flH H 


^9 




"66 


a 


S£ 






rt ■* u 


CO 


n : 
ich 

lo-S 
man 

ch: 


u 


•s 53 M c ^s o 




rt jj a u « a 




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s 



3 I 
£ J 



s 



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* 4) _, 

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rt --Sit; 






£ W 'H- 



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ft O O O - 1) 






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•fe. 






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532 English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 

Extract from Sharon Turner's '•''History of the A?iglo Saxons." 

" Words have been divided into nine classes : the Article ; the Substantive 
or Noun ; the Pronoun ; the Adjective ; the Verb ; the Adverb ; the Preposi- 
tion ; the Conjunction ; and the Interjection. 

u Under these classes all the Saxon words may be arranged, although not 
with that scientific precision with which the classifications of natural history- 
have been made. Mr. Tooke has asserted that in all languages there are 
only two sorts of words necessary for the communication of our thoughts, 
and therefore only two parts of speech, the noun and the verb ; and that the 
others are the abbreviations of these. That nouns and verbs are the most 
essential and primitive words of language, and that all others have been 
formed from them, are universal facts, which, after reading the 'Diversions 
of Purley" 1 and tracing in other languages the application of the principles 
there maintained, no enlightened philologist will now deny. But, though this 
is true as to the origin of these parts of speech, it may be questioned whether 
the names, established by convential use, may not be still properly retained, 
because the words now classed as conjunctions, prepositions, &c, though 
originally verbs, are not verbs at present, but have long been separated from 
their verbal parents, and have become distinct parts of our grammatical syn- 
tax." 

208 common words, among which 



The 




occurs 


23 


times. 


a 




tt 





tt 


of 




tt 


11 


tt 


to 




it 


2 


tt 


from 




tt 


2 


<( 


in 




tt 


3 


tt 


with 




tt 


2 


<( 


by 




1 1 


1 


tt 


Pro. 1 st 


person 


u 


2 


tt 


" 2d 


u 


«« 





tt 


« 3d 


tt 


tt 


2 


tt 


be, aux 




tt 


7 


tt 


have, " 




tt 


7 


tt 


shall, " 




tt 





tt 


will, " 




tt 


1 


tt 


may, " 




4 tt 


3 


tt 


do " 




tt 





tt 


that 




tt 


5 


<< 


and 




tt 

other particles, 


7 

78 
33 


tt 



in particles. 

Hence, Sharon Turner's style re. mires about 208 common words to obtain 
100 different words, and averages about fifty-three per cent, particles and 
fifty-two per cent, repetitions. 



Nineteenth Century. 



533 



WO* 

ia 



as 2 

< o 



o o 
8-5 

>-. o 



a •£ <« ° 8—3 £ rt 

O K S •* C 



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c c-5.2 ei: «j ■/> 



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3,a 



w u c o . £ 
cm; ova hh So ui 






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n o 

v <J 
N <u 

rtO 

5 c 

? 4) 



H> 



534 English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 

Extract from Cooper's "Red Rover." 

"By this time the crew, under the orders of the pilot, were assembled at 
the windlass, and had commenced heaving-in upon the cable. The labour 
was of a nature to exhibit their individual powers, as well as their collective 
force, to the greatest advantage. Their motion was simultaneous, quick, and 
full of muscle. The cry was clear and cheerful. As if to feel his influence, 
our adventurer lifted his own voice amid the song of the mariners, in one of 
those sudden and inspiriting calls, with which a sea-officer is wont to encour- 
age his people. His utterance was deep, animated, and full of authority. 
The seamen started like mettled coursers, when they first hear the signal, each 
man casting a glance behind him, as if he would scan the qualities of his new 
superior. Wilder smiled, like one satisfied with his success ; and, turning to 
pace the quarter-deck, he found himself once more confronted by the calm, 
considerate," &c. 

160 common words, among which 



The 






occurs 15 


times. 


a 






3 


a 


of 






7 


it 


to 






5 


a 


from 









u 


in 






2 


u 


with 






2 


a 


by 






2 


a 


Pronoun, 


1st 


person 


1 


a 


it 


2d 


(( 





u 


u 


3d 


u 


12 


(c 


be, aux. 







t< 


have, " 






1 


u 


shall, " 









c< 


will, " 






1 


u 


may, " 









u 


do " 









u 


that 






" 


l< 


and 






5 

56 
Other particles, 16 


M 



72 particles. 

Hence, Cooper's style requires about 160 common words to obtain ioo 
different words, and averages about forty-five per cent, particles and thirty- 
eight per cent, repetitions. 



Nineteenth Century. 



535 





wo. 


5 

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g 








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» i, C"0 Mu Sx o n<S c ^ « l> H« "• e " ^ 
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6 


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en 




* OT * M> *j 

« u S <u rt rt _* 2.S c — hj"^— — 




43 
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536 English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 

Extract from "Epicure's Receipt Book" or "Home Advice? 

•* Fillet or Leg of Veal : Make a stuffing of grated bread and finely 
chopped pickled pork, or fat ham, or bacon. If the pork is not convenient, 
rub a piece of butter into the bread ; season with pepper, salt, sweet herbs, 
and a little grated lemon peel or mace ; moisten with the yolks of two eggs; 
make four slits parallel to the bone, and stuff full. Roast and baste the same 
as the loin. For sauce, see * Pan Gravy? Have fresh lemon on table to 
eat with it. 

" Note. — Perfectly wholesome." 

" ' Cocoa-nut Cakes :' Made exactly like '-Almond Cake? using half a 
pound of grated cocoa-nut instead of the almonds. Flavor with rose water. 

" Note. — The cocoa-nut is indigestible; the rest of the cake is much like 
' Sponge Cake? 

" Marketing : Beef — how to choose it. If the beef is good, the fat will 
be white and the meat of a light red, and the fat and lean marbled in together. 
If, on the contrary, the lean is dark and purplish, and the fat yellow and oily, 
it is all very poor," &c. 



181 common words, among which 



The 




occurs 


17 times. 


have, 


aux. 


occurs 


times. 


a 






tt 


5 " 


shall, 


(i 


a 





t; 


of 






u 


7 " 


will, 


<( 


n 


1 


tt 


to 






u 


8 " 


may, 


(t 


tt 





tt 


from 






a 


" 


do, 


n 


tt 





C( 


with 






(( 


4 " 


that 




tt 





it 


in 






u 


3 " 


and 




tt 


10 


a 


by 






t< 


" 








— 




Pronoun ist 
" 2d 


per. 
it 


tt 

it 


" 
" 




other 


particles, 


59 
19 




u 
be, aux. 


3d 


u 


tt 

u 


4 " 
" 








78 particles. 



Hence, the '''Receipt Book" requires 181 common words to obtain 100 
dififcrent words, and averages about forty-three per cent, particles and forty- 
five p> c cent, repetitions. 

N./TE. — It is somewhat remarkable that the "Receipt Book" derives its 
vocabulary from nine different languages : a greater variety than has been 
used in almost any other work we examined. We are told that Napoleon 
said: "Cooking is a science and roasting an art;" there is great truth in 
this statement. In England and France all interest themselves to see that it 
is properly attended to. Its importance cannot be over-estimated, for the 
health of the family and community rests upon it. Here the universal interest 
in the subject seems to be linguistically proved. 



Nineteenth Century. 



537 



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538 



English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 



Extract from Washington Irving' s "Life of George Washington." 

" The scene of this battle, which decided the fate of Ph ladelphia, was within 
six and twenty miles of that city, and each discharge of cannon could be heard 
there. The two parties of the inhabitants, whig and tory 7 were to be seen in 
separate groups in the squares and public places, waiting the event in anxious 
silence. At length a courier arrived. His tidings spread consternation 
among the friends of liberty. Many left their homes, entire families aban- 
doned every thing in terror and despair, and took refuge in the mountains. 
Congress, that same evening, determined to quit the city and repair to Lan- 
caster, whence they subsequently removed to York town. Before leaving 
Philadelphia, however, they summoned the Militia of Pennsylvania and the 
adjoining States to join the main army without delay ; and ordered down fif- 
teen hundred troops from Putnam's command on the Hudson. They also 
clothed Washington with power to suspend officers for misbehavior," &c. 



146 common words, among which 



The 




occurs 


12 1 


lme 


a 






a 


1 


u 


of 






tt 


7 


u 


to 






a 


6 


a 


from 






tt 


1 


tt 


in 






tt 


6 


tt 


with 






tt 


3 


<( 


by 






tt 





tt 


Pronoun, 


I St 


person 


(c 





u 


k 


2d 


it 


it 





a 


<< 


3d 


tt 


tt 


5 


tt 


be, aux. 






tt 


2 


ct 


have, " 






tt 





<( 


shall, " 






u 





u 


will, " 






tt 





u 


may, " 






K 





tt 


do, " 






K 





u 


that 






tt 


2 


u 


and 






tt 


9 

54 


u 






other 


particles, 


15 





69 particles. 



Hence, W. Irving's style requires 146 common words to obtain 100 differ- 
ent words, and averages about forty-eight per cent, particles and thirty-three 
per cent, repetitions. 



Nineteenth Century. 



539 



fc 

> 

& 

s 



'< 



*» 



3 



.^ 
$ 






2 < 
5 z 



S S 

a < 
S <- 

o 

o 



.a g 

rt « 

8 j.y 



p. 



Iff 

8 P. 






' b s j- Is a© a*a Sil's s ■>.§■"* 8 

,03 S^ w-S^-. g-|i5jjjg-|'S-o* 















<3 cti : 
^3 rt 



"5 


terror 
despair, n. 

refuge 

mountains 

determined 

quit, v. 

repair, v. 

summoned 

adjoining, ad»j. 

join 

army 

delay, n. 

ordered 

troops 

continental 

command 

power 

suspend 

officers, n. 


o 


1 


scene 

battle, n. 

decided 

miles 

city 

discharge, n. 

cannon 

parties 

groups, n. 

squares 

public 

places, n. 

anxious 

silence, n. 

courier 

arrived 

consternation 

liberty 

entire 

families 

abandoned 


.8 


fate 

inhabitants 

separate, adj. 

event 

congress 

subsequently 

removed 

militia 

states 


00 


1 
is 









^ 



►31 

81 



B > 



WE 



2s 
ffl o 



540 



English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 



Extract from Pr escorts "History of the Conquest of Peru." 

Book IV., Chapter vi. 

" The first step of the conspirators, after securing possession of the capital, 
was to send to different cities, proclaiming the revolution which had taken 
place, and demanding the recognition of the young Almagro as governor of 
Peru. Where the summons was accompanied by a military force, as at Trux- 
illo and Arequipa, it was obeyed without much cavil. But in other cities a 
colder assent was given, and in some the requisition was treated with con- 
tempt. In Cuzco, the place of most importance next to Lima, a considerable 
number of the Almagro faction secured the ascendency of their party, and 
such of the magistracy as resisted were ejected from their offices to make room 
for others of a more accommodating temper. But the loyal inhabitants of 
the city, dissatisfied with this proceeding, privately sent to one of Pizarro's 
captains, named Alvarez de Holguin, who lay with considerable force in the 
neighborhood, and that officer, entering the place, soon dispossessed the new 
dignitaries of their honors, and restored the ancient capital to its allegiance. 

"The conspirators experienced a still more determined opposition from 
Alonzo de Alvarado, one of the principal captains of Pizarro, who defeated, 
as the reader will remember," etc. 

172 common words, among which 



The 

a 

of 

to 

from 

in 

with 

by 

Pro., 1 st person, 
" 2d " 
" 3d " 

be, aux. 

have, " 

shall " 

will »• 

may " 

do " 

that 

and 



occurs 21 


times. 


" 4 


t< 


" 14 


(< 


5 


t< 


" 2 


u 


" 4 


(( 


3 


a 


" 1 


it 


" 


« 


" 


u 


5 


a 


" 5 


a 


" 1 


u 


" 


u 


" 1 


IC 


" 


«( 


" 


u 


" 1 


u 


" 5 


tt 


72 




other particles, 20 




92 particles. 



Hence, Prescott's style requires 172 common words to obtain 100 different 
words, and averages about 53 per cent, particles and 42 per cent, repetitions. 



Nineteenth Century. 



54i 






fa 


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s 


w 


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a. 


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542 



English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 



Extract from T. B. Shaw's "Outlines of English Literature." 

" Phillips, the nephew and pupil of Milton, in the preface to his "Thea- 
trum Poetarum" a work which is without doubt deeply tinged with the 
literary taste and opinions of the author of ''''Paradise Lost" complains of 
the gradually increasing French taste, which characterized our literature, when 
he wrote, i. e., in 1675, in the reign of Charles II. : 'I cannot but look upon 
it as a very pleasant humour, that we should be so compliant with the French 
custom as to follow set fashions, not only in garments, but in music and poetry.' 
Now, whether the trunk hose fashion of Queen Elizabeth's days, or the panta- 
loon genius of ours, be best, I shall not be hasty to determine. The cause of 
the great influx of Gallicisms, which took place at the Restoration, is un- 
doubtedly to be found in the long exile of Charles II. during the stormy period 
of the Republic. Charles and the few faithful adherents who composed his 
court, passed many of those years in France ; he was indeed a pensioner of 
Versailles. He there naturally acquired a taste for the artificial and somewhat 
formal acquirements." 



173 common words, among which 



The 
a 
of 
to 

from 
in 

with 
by 

Pronoun 1st person 
2d' " 
" 3d " 

be, aux. 
have, 
shall, 
will, 
may, 
do, 
that 
and 



occurs 
cc 
a 
a 
(( 
u 
(( 
i( 
u 
a 
u 
(i 
a 
(( 
u 



17 times. 

4 " 
u 

(( 

u 



other particles, 



12 

4 
o 

7 
2 
o 

5 
o 
6 

3 
2 
1 
o 

o 
I 
5 

69 

27 



96 particles. 



Hence, Shaw's style requires about 173 common words to obtain 100 differ- 
ent words, and averages about fifty-five per cent, particles and forty-six per 
cent, repetitions. 



Nineteenth Century. 



543 



?w 






s 


o H 


u 


-<0 


f- 


3P 


1 




t/) 




\\ 




f s 




o < 




H 0. 



W 


*J 


W 


S 


o 


< 


< 




£ 




o 


z 

< 



2S 

u < 
S * 

o 
o 



» ^ "-a 6 1.3 



41 

8.S 

ft 



u u fe 






•^ „ o c r _c 



>.<u 



^IlllllJ 



>>G 



H'B-fla-J-f^jll^B-gEg^^ 



ft, 


hasty 

determine 

cause, n. 

place, n. 

Restoration 

exile 

during 

period 

republic 

composed 

court, n. 

passed 

pensioner 

naturally 

acquired 

artificial 

formal 

acquirements 


o 


Nephew 

pupil 

preface, n. 

doubt, n. 

literary 

taste, n. 

opinions 

author 

paradise 

complains 

gradually 

characterized 

literature 

reign, n. 

pleasant 

humour 

compliant 

custom 

fashions, n. 

garments 

music 
pantaloon 


« 

s 


Theatrum 

poetarum 
tinged 

increasing 

very 

trunk 

genius 

influx 

adherents 


<3\ 


1 


& 


H 







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o 


h3 


ft 


R 










X 


O 


§ 


2 




*o 






<3 


o 






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a, 






"1 




k 


Q 



% 



544 English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 

Extract from Prof. Hitchcock' s a Ele?nentary Geology" 

" We are now brought to the period when the country had attained essen- 
tially its present altitude. All the agencies that produced drift, viz. : ice- 
bergs, glaciers, landslips, and waves of translation, are still in operation in 
some parts of the world, and therefore drift is still being produced. Ever since 
the tertiary period these causes have been acting, but their intensity has varied 
in different ages. 

11 The same is true of the agencies that have produced beaches, osars, escars, 
subaqueous ridges, and terraces, viz. : the action of rivers and the ocean 
combined with secular elevation of continents. In other words, the agencies, 
producing drift and modified drift, have run parallel to each other from the 
very first. Hence they are varieties of the same formation, extending from 
the close of the tertiary period to the present. The sections describing 
aqueous, igneous, and organic agencies, contain the history of this period in 
detail. The Flora and Fauna are those now existing. Man has existed on 
the earth a comparatively short part of the alluvial period. We have a few 
records of the commencement of this period. There are many examples of 
river beds on a former," &c. 

191 common words, among which 

The occurs 20 times. 

3 " 
10 " 

3 " 

1 " 

5 " 
i " 
o " 

2 " 
o " 

2 " 

3 " 
7 " 
o " 

" 
o " 
o " 

1 " 

6 " 

64 
other particles, 19 

83 particles. 

Hence, Prof. Hitchcock's geologic style requires 184 common words to ob- 
tain 100 different words, and averages about forty-three per cent, particles, 
and forty-eight per cent, repetitions. 



a 


tt 


of 


(I 


to 


(( 


from 


(t 


in 


a 


with 


tt 


by 


tt 


Pro. of 1st person 


u 


14 2d " 


u 


" 3d " 


« 


be, aux. 


(( 


have, " 


tt 


shall " 


tt 


will " 


tt 


may " 


tt 


do " 


(( 


that 


tt 


and 


cc 



Nineteenth Century. 



545 





" 






















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1 ^s 










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w> 


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M 

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§ -IB . 


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3> 








^9 'i 






< O 


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S 


M 

1 


5 a 

h « i •• .. 


OOUM 

c 
8 






w > 








«^a«««>.ga 


s? - - 

Pi 




u 












H 








H tN M M 


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J •■ 








IO If 


£! 




v 2 

3 

« 5 


•1 





M 








gg 


s 








5 
















u 




| 




| 




1 


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g 


£ 

3 


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N 
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•71 

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3js|2jJ q l§-g-|fr5.l?-3 
1 I'll I'l ll'l lil'll 1 


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lass 

s y 


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546 English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 

Extract from Mrs. Somerville 's " Connexion of the Physical 
Sciences" p. 194, gth L. E., 1858. 

" Water polarizes light circularly, when between the points of maximum, 
density and solidification : hence it becomes crystalline. The colored images 
from polarized light arise from the interference of the rays. MM. Fresnel 
and Arago found, that two rays of polarized light interfere and produce col- 
ored fringes, if they be polarized in different planes. In all intermediate 
positions, fringes of intermediate brightness are produced. The analogy of a 
stretched cord will show how this happens. Suppose the cord to be moved 
backwards and forwards horizontally at equal intervals ; it will be thrown into 
an undulating curve, lying all in one plane. If to this motion there be super- 
added another similar and equal, commencing exactly half an undulation later 
than the first, it is evident that the direct motion every molecule will assume, 
in consequence of the first system of waves, will at every instant be exactly neu- 
tralized by the retrograde motion it would take in virtue of the second, and the 
cord itself will be quiescent in consequence of the interference. But if the 
second system of waves be in a plane perpendicular to the first, the effect 
would only be to twist the rope, so that no interference would take place. 
Rays, polarized at right angles to each,'' &c. 

206 common words, among which 

17 times. 
3 " 
9 " 

5 " 

2 " 

6 " 

" 

1 " 
o " 

o '« 

5 " 

5 " 

o " 

o " 

8 " 

o " 

o " 

3 " 
_5 " 

69 

other particles, 20 

89 particles. 

Thus, Mrs. Somerville' s style requires about 206 common words to obtain 
100 different words, and averages about forty -three per cent, particles and 
fifty-one per cent, repetitions. 



The 






occurs 


a 






u 


of 






u 


to 






(« 


from 






l< 


in 






14 


with 






(( 


by 






(( 


Pronoun of 1st 


per. 


u 


(< 


2d 


(< 


(C 


u 


3d 


t( 


c< 


be, aux. 




u 


have, " 






u 


shall, " 






a 


will, " 






a 


may, " 






if 


do, " 






it 


that 






(( 


and 






i< 



Nineteenth Century. 



547 



«0 5J 



■** « 
I" 

H fi 
^ o 

8 '•= 



5 Is 



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£w 




wcw 




cog 


d, 


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u 


hO 


f-, 


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e/3 








"P 2 




o < 




hi, 







s a 


M tOOO N M M H 


8 


M 


















X ,. 




u o~v 


"crt e •■ 




OOU 


Latin : 

French 
Anglo- 
Germ a 
Gothic 
Welsh 
Irish : 




l 5 = 






V * > 



sH Sm. 






£> » 1) 4J 4) «»« *0 

«-c-F £-E ° 5 



6 6 8*g- ,3 
3 S'C 3.C £* • 



rill fcl 111 



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y y "o *{ u 5< 

.- fl g« 

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c u,.2 b >% V i3~ a 
v vo.2 tp«o o c 5 o 

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Hill § 53 E IS1-S 



s .S-S 
§ ~ 1 

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■S3 O 

u u 
bfl.S 

•a 3 



548 English Period, A.D. 1600-18/8. 

Extract from " Contributions to the Natural History of the United 
States of America" by Prof. Agassiz.* 

First Monograph, Vol. I., p. 17. 

" Where naturalists have investigated the influence of physical causes upon 
living beings, they have constantly overlooked the fact, that the features, 
which are thus modified, are only of secondary importance in the life of ani- 
mals and plants,' and that neither the plan of their structure, nor the various 
complications of that structure, are ever affected by such influences. What, 
indeed, are the parts of the body which are, in any way, affected by external 
influences ? Chiefly those which are in immediate contact with the external 
world, such as the skin, and in the skin chiefly its outer layers, its color, the 
thickness of the fur, the color of the hair, the feathers, and the scales ; then 
the size of the body and its weight, as far as it is dependent on the quality and 
quantity of the food ; the thickness of the shell of mollusks, when they live 
in waters or upon a soil containing more or less limestone, &c. The rapidity 
or slowness of the growth is also influenced in a measure by the course of the 
seasons, in different years ; so is also the fecundity, the duration of life, &c. 
But all this has nothing to do with the essential characteristics of animals." 

203 common words, among which 



The 






occurs 


28 times. 


have, 


aux. 


occurs 2 times. 


a 






tt 


2 


u 


shall, 


tt 


tt 





t( 


of 






tt 


16 


u 


will, 


(t 


(1 





tt 


to 






" 


1 


tt 


may, 


tt 


It 





tt 


from 






(< 





tt 


do, 


tt 


tt 


O 


tt 


in 






u 


7 


tt 


that 




It 


3 


tt 


with 






t( 


2 


u 


and 




tt 


5 


tt 


by 






t< 


2 


cc 












Pron. of 1st 


person 


a 





(< 








78 




tt 


2d 


(< 


lt 





" 




other 


particles, 


31 




c« 


3d 


k 


' k 


7 


(t 












Be, aux. 






tt 


3 


'* 








109] 


Dartic 



Hence, Agassiz' style requires about 203 common words to furnish 100 
different words, and averages about fifty-four per cent, particles, and fifty- 
one per cent, repetitions. 

* This noble and liberal-minded scientist refused the enticing invitations of 
Napoleon III. to be Director of the Garden of Plants at Paris and Senator of 
France, and preferred to remain Abbot Lawrence Professor at Cambridge. 
So did Max Miiller, as previously stated, decline the Kaiser's invitation to be 
professor at the University of Strasburg. Intellect and science can and do add 
eclat to royalty : Virgil and Horace throw a halo around Augustus ; Shake- 
speare and Jonson, around Elizabeth ; Corneille and Racine, around Louis 
XIV. ; Humboldt, around Frederick William III. ; whereas, the Emperor of 
Rome, Queen of England, Kings of France and Prussia, could not enhance 
the fame of Virgil, Shakespeare, Corneille, Humboldt. America must ever 
feel proud of Agassiz ; England of Max Miiller ; the world of Humboldt. 



Nineteenth Century. 



549 



as 



Si o U 



a u c u o 






<u.E «^:±; *"o 



£JS r £ £ > ») s rt.yj= g «•£ 



•s !s^ £ 



C 3 

v rt u 



ho! 



•d 



~ o 

o tve .a _s .a _h _e 



> 



-sip 

ri c v 



c'g-S s 8 sis a g 



lail s c'i-ss8». ! s 



>.K 



.2 "3 



! b^-S -31 E 5 2 rt £ ~«. 

II g B.g J* g J .8 si* 



>»rt o 



2 c 



« E rt E u 



,"£" £.2 e « 
m «vi5 £2 a 3 >- 
S s^ * 2 3 3 



* 



*« « 






° 8 

v u 

-.9 



<J= 3 

^.2 



1-3 



si 



8g 

^ V 



550 



English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 



Extract from Sarah Jos epha Hale's "Woman's Record." 

"Kamamalu (the name signifies 'The shade of the lonely one'') was the 
daughter of Kamehameha, King of the Sandwich Islands, who, from his con- 
quests and character, has been styled ' the Napoleon of the Pacific.'' Kama- 
malu was his favorite daughter, and he married her to his son and heir, 
Liholiho, who was born of a different mother, intermarriages of brother and 
sister being then practiced in those heathen islands. 

" After the death of Kamehameha, his son Liholiho succeeded to the King 
of Hawaii and all the islands of the group, and Kamamalu was his queen and 
favorite wife, though he had four others. This was in 1819. The following 
year was the advent of the Gospel and Christian civilization to these miserable 
heathen. As has ever been the case, women joyfully welcomed the glad 
tidings of hope and peace and purity. Kamamalu was among the first con- 
verts, and eagerly embraced the opportunities for instruction. In 1822 she 
was diligently prosecuting her studies, could read and write, and her example 
was of great influence in strengthening the wavering disposition of her hus- 
band, and finally inducing him to abandon his debaucheries and become, as 
he said, ' a good man.' * As a proof of the wonderful progress made by this 
people in the manners of civilized life," &c. 



199 common words, among which 



The 






occurs 


21 


times. 


have, 


aux 


occurs 


2 


times. 


a 






<( 


3 


<« 


shall 


a 







u 


of 






cc 


14 


u 


will 


(< 







u 


to 






tt 


4 


a 


may 


u 







u 


from 






u 


1 


tt 


do 


a 







(( 


in 






(t 


5 


tt 


that 









(( 


with 






u 





tt 


and 






15 


u 


by 






tt 


1 


a 












Pro. 
<« 


I St 

2d 


person 

U 


tt 






u 
<< 


other 


particles, 


85 
13 




« 3d 
be, aux. 


tt 


tt 
tt 


i5 

4 


a 
tt 








98 particles. 



Hence, Mrs. Hale's style requires 199 common words to obtain 100 differ- 
ent words, and averages about 50 per cent, particles and 50 per cent, repe- 
titions. 



* Even in this nineteenth century we have a bright example of woman's in- 
tuitive capacity to know what is best and choose it : Helena at Rome, 
Clotilda in France, Bertha in England, Theodelinda in Italy, Anna in Russia, 
&c, were the worthy instruments through whom Christianity and civilization 
found their way to the peoples of those countries. 



Nineteenth Century. 



551 



■fc 






o < 



s s 

6 6 
CO 



ajT3 g "wiS'S 
t « c c « o 



goo 












u < 

o 






* 



£^ 



■j as 2-s-s-s s a § e"s s : 

8 PS * 



JS 10 -^ 






u Win 2.5 t, « - v cj-h bo . 

jS a 2^ * a & 5 s 5 rt.s « 



filial 8 5f|-gJ-JlJlj-|| 



3 5 £ 

rt 
T3 



o p. 2 



05 it £ 

G ti !! e k c 5 .£ 
^T? ■3 o .2* u ~ o e >- "i 

psp£ss.l'lg&as|i 1 8s 

8 «|;s-o u |^ «| E 



« o 



o rt 



1 



§ 



'ES-oft-'S 



'Kb 






J'g.j'l £ 



^ 



rt c 

-G 4> 

s 2 

u « 
rt rt 

b 






552 



English Period \ A.D. 1600-1878. 



Extract from Allen's " Compendium of Hardee's Tactics" New 
York Ed., 1861,^. 12. 

"44. The object of this school being the individual and progressive instruc- 
tion of the recruits, the instructor never requires a movement to be executed, 
until he has given an exact explanation of it ; and he executes himself, the 
movement which he commands, so as to join example to precept. He accus- 
toms the recruit to take by himself the position which is explained, teaches 
him to rectify it only when required by his want of intelligence, and sees that 
all the movements are performed without precipitation. 

45. Each movement should be understood before passing to another. After 
they have been properly executed in the order laid down in each lesson, the 
instructor no longer confines himself to that order ; on the contrary, he should 
change it, that he may judge of the intelligence of the men. 

46. The instructor allows the men to rest at the end of each part of the 
lessons, and oftener, if he thinks proper, especially at the commencement; 
for this purpose he commands Rest. 

47. At the command Rest, the soldier is no longer required to preserve 
immobility, or to remain in his place. If the instructor merely wishes to re- 
lieve the attention of the recruit, he commands, In place — Rest ; the soldier 
is then not required to preserve his immobility, but he always keeps one of his 
feet in its place. 

48. When the instructor wishes to commence the instruction, he commands 
— Attention; at this command the soldier takes his position, remains motion- 
less, and fixes his attention. 

49. The school of the soldier will be divided into three parts," &c. 



258 common words, among which 



The 






occurs 


29 


times. 


have, 


aux. 


occurs 


2 


times. 


a 








tt 


2 


tt 


shall, 


u 


tt 


I 


«< 


of 








tt 


9 


tt 


will, 


l< 


tt 


I 


a 


to 








tt 


12 


tt 


may, 


(( 


tt 


I 


a 


from 








tt 





tt 


do, 


u 


a 


O 


tt 


in 








tt 


5 


tt 


that, 




a 


3 


tt 


with 








tt 





a 


and 




ti 


4 


it 


by 








tt 


2 


tt 








— 




Pron. 


of 1st 
" 2d 


per. 


tt 
tt 






tt 
it 




other particles, 


103 
29 




it 
be, aux. 


3d 


u 


tt 
tt 


26 
6 


tt 
tt 








132 


particles. 



Hence, the didactic military style requires about 258 common words to 
furnish 100 different words, and averages about fifty-one per cent, particles 
and sixty-one per cent, repetitions. 



Nineteenth Century. 



553 






ecu 



3 
V 

8 

a 

^ 



S 






1 



4 



v. 

I 






V 2 

O 5 

u < 

o 
o 



_lfc<<0£ 



« « c § 






>J=.S £ 






•3 „ 3 g-g 5?^ S^ « 






is 

11 






u-=- 



g ft 



ftEft' 



i'E-l s - - 

,5 B 4) 






c oj . 2 bjD^, c - 

i&B-IILiri 






: ^ 



•5 vo *> 



554 English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 

Extract from Longfellow 's "Psalm of Life." 

li Tell me not in mournful numbers, 
* Life is but an e7npty dream ! ' 
For the soul is dead that slumbers, 
And things are not what they seem. 

Life is real ! life is earnest ! 

And the grave is not its goal ; 
Dust thou art, to dust returnest, 

Was not spoken of the soul. 

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow, 

Is our destined end or way ; 
But to act that each to-morrow 

Find us further than to-day. 

Art is long and time is fleeting, 

And our hearts, though stout and brave, 

Still like muffled drums are beating 
Funeral marches to the grave. 

In the world's broad field of battle, 

In the bivouac of life, 
Be not like dumb, driven cattle ; 

Be a hero in the strife ! 

Trust no future, howe'er pleasant ; 

Let the dead past bury its dead ! 
Act — act in the living present, 

Heart within and God o'erhead. 

Lives of great men all remind us 
We can make our lives sublime, 

And, departing, leave behind us 
Footsteps on the sands of time. 

Footsteps that perhaps another, 

Sailing o'er life's solemn main," &c. 

180 common words, among which 



The 




occurs 


IO 


:imes. 


have, 


aux. 


occurs 


times. 


a 






«< 


2 


" 


shall, 


tt 


tt 





(< 


of 






t* 


5 


u 


will, 


ti 


a 





u 


to 






tt 


5 


tt 


may, 


tt 


u 





tt 


from 






«t 





tt 


do, 


tt 


u 





(( 


in 






l( 


5 


u 


that 




cc 


3 


u 


with 






tt 


2 


u 


and 




«< 


7 


tt 


by 






tt 





tt 












Pro. 


of 1st 


person 


a 


8 


" 








55 




< 


2d 


c« 


tt 


1 


tt 




other 


particles, 


24 




t 


3d 


<< 


tt 


3 


tt 








— 




be, aux. 




tt 


4 


tt 








79 F 


articl 



Hence, Longfellow's poetic style requires about 180 common words to fur- 
nish 100 different words, and averages about forty-four per cent, particles, 
and forty- four per cent, repetitions. 



Nineteenth Century. 



555 





►H " 




Sa 




up* 




cn> 




6^ 




S U 




<rH 






& 




N 




* 




« 




•5 




« 




$ 




*» 




1 




"5 


s; 




C\ 




s 




s 




1. 


in 
W 

o 


a 


< 


1 





§ 


<$e 


h! 


1! 


o 


'-. 




? 


w 


^s 


Ph 


<^ 


> 


<~ 


H 






$ 


u 


<a 


H 


*, 




V 


Ph 


k 


<D 




Hi 


3 


6 


*» 




8 


& 


S 


< 


S. 




^ 




O 




o 








* 




e 




& 




K 




O 





O S 

x < 
w 2 
£ 
o 



s 
o 

; 6 2-c5.y.c 



jo 

oo 



1- ol 

oca 



■S B 

rt 3 






i> -T3J bib 
2§£o.S 



3 D •• r 



o <u « uj -J3 « 



d £ 4-. 

3lS-S|l-ai||^l|||g.|f|§l 



-esse l-abar„"3Sja a 

« ,0,3 B -3 



sz a, 



aft^is 



"fe. 



^ 



S J3 



O 3 



31 



o o 



8r? 

1/1 </) 

o| 
& B 



o c 



556 



English Period \ A.D. 1600- 1878. 



Extract from Robert Dale Owen's "Eootfalls on the Boundary of 
Another World? p. 48. 

" A large portion of the periodicals of the day have hitherto either wholly 
ignored the subject of ultramundane interference, or else passed it by with 
superficial and disparaging notice. After a time there will be a change in 
this. The subject is gradually attaining a breadth and importance, and win- 
ning a degree of attention, which will be felt by the better portion of the 
press, as entitling it to that respectful notice, which is due of a reputable op- 
ponent. And surely this is as it should be. Let the facts be as they may, 
the duty of the press and of the pulpit is be=t fulfilled, and the dangers, inci- 
dent to the subject, are best averted by promoting, not discouraging, inquiry ; 
but inquiry thorough, searching, sedulously accurate, and in the strictest sense 
of the term, impartial. 

"The first requisite in him, who undertakes such an investigation — more 
important, even, than scientific training to accurate research — is that he shall 
approach it unbiased and unpledged, bringing with him no favorite theory to 
be built up, no preconceived opinions to be gratified or offended, not a wish 
that the results," &c. 

189 common words, among which 



The 

a 

of 

to 

from 

in 

with 

by 

Pronoun of ist person 
2d " 
3d » 

be, aux. 

have, " 

shall, " 

will, " 

may, " 

do, " 

that 

and 



occurs 


16 ti 


a 


8 


it 

a 
tt 


9 
5 



it 
tt 


3 

2 


a 
a 


3 



a 





a 


8 


it 


6 


tt 


1 


a 


2 


a 


2 


a 


1 


a 





tt 
tt 


3 

7 


other particles, 


76 
24 




100 particles. 



times. 



Hence, R. D. Owen's style requires about 189 common words to obtain 
100 different words, and averages about fifty-three per cent, particles and forty- 
seven per cent, repetitions. 



Nineteenth Century. 



557 






i 



8 a 

•St B. 

<§ I 

"v 06 S- 






^ 






1 









o < 

J- fe 



« z 
< o 

to > 



IS 






C! ■* 
rt .y ■ 



6 o 



ecu 



! of 



rtS-^fc 



»«-S"« « s 








-o 






-a 












T3 ^ 


O 
ri 






«! T3 


a 














V 






rt.S M 
a, 3 ft 


o 
> 

rt 


o 
— 


c 
o 


5. 
o 


rt 


a 

U 


•* 




3 




















&3' 



• a. ^ <u F 3 •- 



CJ y = 






W\~~ £ « « <D 



u J 






K u 1) - r 



"5 " rt J 



3 a-a rt *5 g-o 



C 4) 

"-a s 






- a u v a., 
3 * i> a, a 



b t> ci >-. o 



« a 




r= & - 




3 a -a 


CO 


42 .<2 




■s 





I 3 5 






■g* 5 



"fe 



a T-i 



4- i> 

(Dig 



id 


-a 


B 


d 








£ 






B 








R 


43 










O 


< 


o 




_G 








o 



& 




■o 


ft 


3 


>> 


O 












42 










rt 


C 

o 


hJ 


t/> 
















O 


o 


^ 












i/l 




a 

1 


b 


o 


> 


o 















£ 








A 






P 


c 


<J 





























> 










p 


c/> 


< 


•« 


J 


« 


b 


S 


e 


J 


ft 


(3 
O 










o 






B 






ft 


o 










B 


a 


.2 


?? 






> 


is 






U) 


<u 


-a 








rt 




W 


E 


c 

« 


rt 


* 


8 » 




£1 a 




O ^ 



558 English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 

Extract from Marsh's "Lectures on the English Language" 

P- 133- 

" The causes which have led to the adoption of so large a proportion of 
foreign words, and at the same time produced so important modifications in 
the signification of many terms originally English, are very various. The 
most obvious of these are the early christianization of the English nation, a 
circumstance not always sufficiently considered in the study of our linguistic 
history; the Norman conquest ; the crusaders; and especially the mechanical 
industry and commercial enterprise of the British people, the former of which 
has compelled them to seek both the material for industrial elaboration, and 
a vent for their manufactures in the markets of the whole Earth ; the latter 
has made them the common carriers and brokers of the world. With so many 
points of external contact, so many conduits for reception of every species of 
foreign influence, it would imply a great power of repulsion and resistance in 
the English, if it had not become eminently composite in its substance and in 
its organization. In fact it has so completely adapted itself," &c. 





171 common words, among whi 


ch 




The 






occurs 


19 times. 


a 






tt 


4 


tt 


of 






ti 


H 


u 


to 






(1 


2 


u 


from 






tt 





a 


in 






tt 


7 


u 


with 






tt 


1 


u 


by 






It 





<c 


Pronoun, ist 


person 


(( 


1 


it 


t( 


2d 


tt 


(( 





it 


el 


3d 


<t 


(1 


9 


it 


be, 


aux. 




(( 





it 


have, 


" 




u 


5 


it 


shall, 


<( 




it 





a 


will, 


tt 




tt 


1 


it 


may, 


l( 




it 





it 


do, 


u 




t< 





it 


that 






tc 





it 


and 






tt 

other particles, 


7 

70 
17 


it 










Sy particles. 



Hence, Marsh's style requires about 171 common words to furnish 100 
different words, and averages about fifty-one per cent, particles and forty-one 
per cent, repetitions. 



Nineteenth Century. 



559 









r£]Pi 

I 



§ 

* 



k, 



Si 



<5 






o < 



5? 



« < 

o 
o 



I 2 





^o 






ench : 
glo-Sax 
rman : 
elsh : 


^ o T> 
OOU 


&<5Z 


u: ; 



_^ Soli agjl &•£ j:^ij ^ g 









3»ca u 



6^ i 



D >> u u 

« c^ij 5 - U--.2 «>,*< a "5 -a c 

11 Sc"lll 111 s-lli Is p 



O 3 



^ 



op s %££ |.s-a is 32 g.* o rt 

o, .5 §•- ° i-S- ° u « c" 



3 i.fTS IsSl 5.fL 

2-2 c.2 ££ h"u— y 
> °.<» g 5 o u "> u 






^ s 



.as 
So 



|a 



-Is 



5 3 B 

O p,j3 

&E-S 
*■* in 

C en o 
°"S * 

111 



8«1 



^ 



*«£ 

jli 

S * rt 

.2 u u 

§S.S) 






62 B 

1"§^ 
%J 

•o ° « 

£ -5 

t/l CU5 

a- a 

.E <* o 
"SIS >* 
.E te-o 
■e-gS 

<n •— „ 
rt fe u 

3 X rt 

or. x 

* C rt 



S6o 



English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 



Extract from Horatio Seymour's Speech before the Democratic 
State Convention at Albany, March 11, 1868. 

"If the assaults from without are never resisted, and the rottenness and 
mining from within are never guarded against, who can preserve the rights 
and liberties of the people, when they shall be abandoned by themselves ! 
Who shall keep watch in the temple, when the watchmen sleep at their post ? 
Who shall call upon the people to redeem their possessions and revive the 
republic, when their own hands have deliberately and corruptly surrendered 
them to the oppressor, and have built the prisons or dug the graves of their 
own friends ? Let us then appeal to the virtue of our people. I believe that 
now they ponder by their firesides upon the time, when under Democratic 
rule we had honest officials, economy in affairs, and a currency of sterling coin. 
I believe their hearts are stirred with indignation at the outrages now per- 
petrated at Washington. Let us, then, write in letters of gold the words 
honor, honesty, economy, upon one side of the folds of our flags, and upon 
the other, freedom of speech and an independent judiciary. Then lift our 
standard high and march on. The path of honor is the path to victory." 



195 common words, among which 



The 

a 

of 

to 

from 

in 

with 

by 

Pron. of 1st per. 
" 2d " 
" 3d " 

be, aux. 

have, " 

shall, " 

will, " 

may, " 

do, " 

that 

and 



19 times. 
2 
9 
4 
2 

3 
3 
1 
8 
o 
10 

4 
2 

3 
o 
o 
o 

10 



81 

other particles, 29 

1 10 particles. 



Hence, Governor Seymour's style requires about 195 common words to 
obtain 100 different words, and averages about fifty-six per cent, particles and 
forty-eight per cent, repetitions. 



Nineteenth Century. 



561 



S. 



3 Jg 



^1 



3 



^0 8 



I. 

1 






^ 

8 

s 
a 






as 
p < 



o 



eg E c S <u ? <u 



A 

si 

So 

00 



8 

p. 



.<J 




*§ 


u 







43 














s 








2 > -'•o'tnS ,„»i»iX U 

g-3 3 §•««$ *>&% * 



v.- u g c*-g m- c-s & « "i £-* £ 



•& 



8 ">~ K 



^ u 





rule, n. 

democratic 

honest 

officials 

economy 

affairs 

coin 

indignation 

outrages 

letters 

honor 

honesty 

independent 

judiciary 

standard 

march 

victory 


CO 


assaults, n. 

resisted, n. 

mining 

guarded 

preserve, v. 

liberties 
people, n. 
abandoned 

temple 

posts, n. 

possessions 

revive 

republic 

surrendered 

oppressor 

prisons 

appeal 

virtue 

time 




call, v. 

redeem 

deliberately 

corruptly 

ponder 

perpetrated 

currency 


t^ 


1 









•vi n~*j 



V 



?? 



£'e 



■a S 



O to 






.0 £ 



>s 



(US 

8 S 



c-S 
9 o 
SO 



562 English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 

Extract from Prof. Draper's "History of the Litellectual Devel- 
opment of Europe " 

"The sciences, therefore, join with history in affirming that the great aim 
of Nature is intellectual improvement. They proclaim that the successive 
stages of every individual, from its earliest rudiment to maturity — the number- 
less organic beings now living contemporaneously with us, and constituting 
the animal series — the orderly appearance of that grand succession, which in 
the slow lapse of time has emerged — all these three great lines of the manifest- 
ation of life furnishes, not only evidences, but also proofs of the dominion of 
law. In all those three lines the general principle is to differentiate instinct 
from automatism, and then to differentiate intelligence from instinct. In 
man himself the three distinct modes of life occur in an epochal order through 
childhood to the most perfect state. And this holding good for the individual, 
since it is physiologically impossible to separate him from the race, what holds 
good for the one must also hold good for the other. Hence, man is truly the 
archetype of society ; his development is the model of social progress." 

168 common words, among which 



The 






occurs 


181 


times. 


a 






<< 


1 


tt 


of 






tt 


9 


tt 


to 






tt 


5 


u 


from 






tt 


4 


tt 


in 






tt 


4 


tt 


with 






n 


2 


tt 


by 
Pron. 


of I st 


pers. 


tt 
tt 



1 


tt 
tt 




" 2d 


«c 


tt 





tt 


be, 


" 3d 
aux. 


tt 


tt 
tt 


5 



tt 
tt 


have, 


k 




u 


X 


u 


shall, 


<< 




tt 





(( 


will, 


(t 




it 





tt 


may, 
do, 


tt 

tt 




it 
it 






tt 

u 


that 






tt 


3 


tt 


and 






tt 


3 


tt 






other 


particles, 


56 

18 












74 particles. 



Hence, Draper's style requires about 168 common words to obtain 100 
different words, and averages about forty-four per cent, particles and forty 
per cent, repetitions. 






O <; 



Nineteenth Century. 



M VO M I O 



3p 



55 u v 



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M 1 1 e > -"a 
i . >,g j> S B.g-S ID'S § 



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564 English Period, A.D. 1600-187 8. 

Extract from Prof. TyndalVs " Heat Co?isidered as a Mode of 
Motion, 11 a course of twelve lectures delivered at the Royal 
Institute of Great Britain, 1863. 

" The chief characteristic of Natural knowledge is its growth ; each fact is 
vital, and every new discovery forms a starting-point for fresh investigation. 
Thus it seems destined to advance, until the phenomena and laws of the mate- 
rial universe are entirely subdued by the intellect of man. But, though each 
department of natural knowledge has been adding to its store, at a rate un- 
known in former times, no branch of it has expanded so rapidly, of late, as 
that which, in these lectures, is to occupy our attention. In scientific manu- 
als but scanty reference has as yet been made to the modern ideas of Heat, 
and thus the public knowledge regarding it is left below the attainable level. 
But the reserve is natural ; for the subject is still an entangled one, and, in 
entering upon it, we must be prepared to encounter difficulties. In the whole 
range of Natural sciences, however, there are none more worthy of being 
overcome — none whose subjugation secures," &c. 

163 common words, among which 
The occurs 10 times. 



a 




tt 




3 


t« 


of 




tt 




9 


tt 


to 




tt 




5 


(< 


from 




tt 







(< 


in 




tt 




4 


cc 


with 




it 







tt 


by 




tt 




1 


tl 


Pronoun 


1st person 


tt 




2 


tt 


(< 


2d " 


tt 







<t 


«« 


3d « 


(< 




7 


tt 


be, aux. 




t; 




5 


a 


have, " 




ic 




3 


a 


shall, " 




tt 







(I 


will, " 




tt 







(« 


may, " 




tt 







C< 


do, " 




tt 







<< 


that 




tt 




1 


(« 


and 




tt 




4 
54 


(( 






other 


particles, 


25 





79 particles. 

Hence, Prof. Tyndall's style requires about 163 common words to obtain 
100 different words, and averages about forty-eight per cent, particles, and 
thirty-nine per cent, repetitions. 



Nineteenth Century. 



565 



.2^ 



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"s.!2 ™ j c u ti rt.o i) i <u £. c 5 



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566 



E?iglisk Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 



Extract from Max Mutter's " Chips from a German Workshop" 
Vol. III., p. ii, N. Y. Ed., 1871. 

" The German emperors and nobles opened their courts to receive their 
guests with brilliant hospitality. Their festivals, the splendor and beauty of 
their tournaments, attracted crowds from great distances, and foremost among 
them poets and singers. It was at such festivals as Heinrich von Veldecke 
describes at Mayence, in 1184, under Frederick L, that French and German 
poetry were brought face to face. It was here that high-born German poets 
learnt from French poets the subjects of their own romantic compositions. 
German ladies became the patrons of German poets ; and the etiquette o f 
French chivalry was imitated at the castles of German knights. Poets made 
bold for the first time to express their own feelings, their joys and sufferings, 
and epic poetry had to share its honors with lyric songs. Not only France 
and Germany, but England and Northern Italy were drawn into this gay so- 
ciety. Henry II. married Eleanor of Poitou, and her grace and beauty found 
eloquent admirers in the army of the Crusaders. Their daughter Mathilde 
was married to Henry the Lion, of Saxony, and one of the Provencal poets 
has celebrated her loveliness. Frenchmen became the tutors of the sons of 
the German nobility. French manners, dresses, dishes, and dances were the 
fashion everywhere. The poetry which florished at the castles was soon 
adopted by the lower ranks." 

192 common words, among which 



The 






occurs 


16 


times. 


have, 


aux. 


occurs 


1 


times. 


a 






(< 


O 


cc 


shall, 


a 


a 





«« 


of 






a 


IO 


c< 


will, 


it 


a 





tt 


to 






<( 


4 


a 


may, 


tt 


a 





a 


from 






tt 


2 


tt 


do, 


tt 


a 





tt 


in 






a 


2 


a 


that 




a 


2 


tt 


with 






tt 


2 


tt 


and 




a 


14 


tt 


by 






a 


1 


tt 








— . 




Pro. of 1st 
" 2d 


person 
(< 


tt 
it 






a 
a 




other 


particles, 


72 
18 




« 3d 
be, aux. 


IC 


tt 
tt 


13 
5 


tt 
a 








90 1 


>articl< 



Hence, Prof. Max Miiller's style requires about 192 common words to fur- 
nish 100 different words, and averages about forty-seven per cent, particles, 
and forty-eight per cent, repetitions. 



Nineteenth Century. 



567 



vT 


•d 


, 


5» 
















d 








s 


& 

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5 
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3 
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s 

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til 
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llsJaif-Sslj 


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w 

fa 


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568 English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 

Extract from " Practice of Medicine" by T. H. Tanner, M.D., 
E.Z.S., $th American Ed., p. 521, 1872. 

" Bronchitis, inflammation of the mucous membrane of the bronchial tubes, 
is one of the most common of the pulmonary diseases which come under the 
notice of the practitioner. Bronchitis (from Bpov%os — the windpipe ; termi- 
nal it is) may be acute or chronic, and one or both lungs may be affected 
throughout, or only a portion of these organs — usually the upper lobes, &c. 

The chief symptoms consist of fever, a sense of tightness or constriction 
about the chest, sternal pain or tenderness, hurried respiration with wheezing, 
severe cough, and expectoration — at first of a viscid glairy mucus, which sub- 
sequently becomes purulent. The pulse is frequent and often weak ; the tem- 
perature in the axilla varies from 99. 5 to 102 ; the tongue is furred and foul, 
and there is headache, together with lassitude, sickness, and often much mental 
uneasiness or even great anxiety. 

Inflammation of the larger and medium-sized tubes is attended by less 
severe symptoms, and is much less destructive to life than general and capillary 
bronchitis," &c. 

159 common words, among which 
The occurs 15 times. 

a 3 " 

10 " 
2 " 
2 " 

1 " 

2 " 

1 " 
o " 
o " 
o " 

2 " 
o " 
o " 
o " 
2 " 
o " 
o " 

1 " 

47 
other particles, 22 

69 particles. 

Thus, Dr. Tanner's didactic medical style requires about 159 common 
words to obtain 100 different words, and averages forty-three per cent, par- 
ticles, and thirty-seven per cent, repetitions. 



of 




a 


to 




tt 


from 




tt 


in 




u 


with 




a 


by 




<< 


Pro. of 1st 


person 


u 


" 2d 


it 


u 


" 3^ 


11 


tt 


Be, aux. 




<« 


have, " 




«c 


shall, " 




(< 


will, " 




<( 


may, " 




tt 


do, " 




a 


that 




u 


and 




tt 



Nineteenth Century. 



569 



I 



* 



2 a 



3 

\ . "a 









•a 

S 



Si 






>< 








,2 


J 








i 


s 








s s 


l 




N N N N H M 


8 


'■3 I 


u 








JO 


H 


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6 6 


S 


s 


O 




w" 13 


3 




.. « " 
c yJ2 B'S.2 




63 , 


li' 


■p g 




(i L C « O Jj 






<; 










h h 










< ti 








rj-vO 


s a 










« 2 










< 










C/) > 










u 




















H 




















U 2 










O 3 










Id < 




















O 










O 











2^ e"-5S*^ 
•3 «i2 2 > a $£ 



« u ■" « S oj c _* « 






5 O S 3 « 



•d >_ >> 



«h gs, 

4 -' !/? he « 



In. u u TV : ?Q.S«5r 



g-pyr 






■fig E 
rt p '/) O 



E "c3 u "d E 



j* T?S 



£ Eq S S 



S ^ u ° 

2 rt.a-a 



I I 



B 3 B JS S, O 

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■3 2 



o B^ S « 2 

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■3^-a at f 

"2 ".'-= 3 "rt -J _"3 ^-5 u _rt •> 



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o .1 



570 English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 

Extract from Prof. W. D. Whitney's "Language and the Study 
of Language." 

"It is not national prejudice that makes us claim for English literature, in 
respect to variety and excellence, a rank second to none. We can show, in 
every or nearly every department, men who have made our English tongue 
say what no other tongue has exceeded. 

" This is not, however, the only test. We cannot but ask also how our lan- 
guage is fitted to admit and facilitate that indefinite progress and extension 
of thought and knowledge to which we look forward as the promise of the 
future. Has it all the capacity of development which could be desired for 
it ? In their bearing upon this inquiry, two of its striking peculiarities — the 
two most conspicuous, in the view of the historical student of language — 
call for special notice : namely, its uninflective or formless character, and its 
composition out of two somewhat heterogeneous elements, Germanic and 
Romanic. 

" Both these peculiarities have been made the subject of repeated reference 
in our discussions hitherto. For its poverty in formative elements, for its 
tendency to monosyllabism, for its inclusion of many parts of speech in the 
same unvaried word, we have compared English more than once with Chinese. 
But we must beware of misapprehending the scope and reach of the com- 
parison." 

201 common words, among which 
The occurs 10 times. 



of 






<( 


12 


to 






tt 


5 


in 






<< 


6 


from 






tt 





with 






a 


1 


by 

Pronoun of ist 
" 2d 


person 

a 


tt 
tt 
tt 




9 



tt 
be, aux. 


3d 


u 


tt 

tt 


10 
3 


have, " 






tt 


4 


shall, " 


. 




tt 





will, " 






tt 





may, " 
do, " 






tt 
tt 






that 






tt 


2 


and 






tt 


7 






other 


particles, 


70 
34 



104 particles. 

Hence, Prof. W. D. Whitney's style requires about 201 common words 
to furnish 100 different words, and averages about fifty-one per cent, particles 
and fifty per cent, repetitions. 



Nineteenth Century. 



571 






I 



1 



«; 

^ 



*■ 



.So 

6 






is 



5 *.... 

* ..I'm 5^ •• 

rt S C vj£ o 



'1 
§1 

00 



5 C i. u^ 



£ '•5' ^>"g S rt -^-s §* 



JJ 12 5 2 "-*i« Jc 



•BM 



o «ij a g A o 



>>>> 



B(j"ipSS 



s 2 



is - 



«"S 2 o 

7? P H o 



s 






Cti „ r. c . ci 



- £e crd 



y c= 



" o. x 5 S 

ti« * 5 - 



1= o 



So a 'JS 71 3 c« c o 

2 % a § M u s.s 



^ 



^ IT) ^ 



rt 






>> 


.y 


Tl 










6 


a 


OJ 


3 


CD 




O 


u 









,13 


O 


s 


-c 


I* 









jra 



572 



English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 



Extract fr 07?i "A Short Course in Astronomy" by Henry Kiddle, 
A.M., Superi?itendent of Schools, New York, p. 127. 

" In order to identify a comet, or ascertain that it is the same which has 
previously appeared, we must know: i. The longitude of the perihelion of 
its orbit ; 2. The longitude of its ascending node ; 3. Its inclination to the 
ecliptic; 4. Its eccentricity; 5. The direction of the comet's motion; and 
6. Its perihelion distance from the sun. These facts are called the Elements 
of its Orbit. 

"204. Elliptic comets. — The elliptic comets are divided into two classes: 
those of short periods and those of long periods. The former are seven in 
number, and have all reappeared several times, their identity being satisfac- 
torily established by an entire correspondence of their elements. The most 
noted of these is the comet of Encke, the period of which is about 3^ years, 
nineteen returns of it having been recorded. 

" The others are De Vico's, the period of which is 5^- years ; Winecke's, 5^ 
years; Brorsen's, 5! years; Biela's, 6| years; Darrest's, 6f years; Faye's, 
l\ years. These comets are named after the distinguished astronomers who 
first discovered them, or determined their periods and predicted their returns. 

" 205. These comets have comparatively small orbits, the mean distance of 
each being less than that of Jupiter, and all revolving within the orbit of 
Saturn. The inclination of their orbits is comparatively small; and they all 
revolve from west to east. They are not conspicuous objects, but have been 
generally visible only with the aid of a telescope. 

"206. With the exceptions of a few comets, the periods of which have been 
computed to be about 75 years, all the remaining elliptic comets are thought 
to be of very long periods, some more than 100,000 years. 

u The comet of 1744 is estimated to require nearly 123,000 years to com- 
plete one revolution," &c. 

266 common words, among which 
The 
a 
of 
to 

from 
in 

with 
by 

Pron. of 1st per. 
" 2d 

" 3d 
be, aux. 

Hence, Superintendent Kiddle's didactic style requires about 266 common 
words to obtain 100 different words, and averages about forty-eight per cent. 
particles, and sixty-two per cent, repetitions. 



occurs 


25 


times. 


have, 


aux. 


occurs 


5 


times. 


<< 


4 


tt 


shall, 


u 


tt 


O 


u 


<< 


21 


" 


will, 


u 


tt 





tt 


cc 


7 


<< 


may, 


(( 


tt 





tt 


<< 


2 


" 


do, 


u 


tt 


O 


tt 


<< 


2 


n 


that 




tt 


2 


n 


tt 


2 


" 


and 




tt 


5 


tt 


<< 


1 


tt 








— 




r. " 


j 


a 








IOI 




tt 





tt 




other 


particles, 28 




a 
cc 


16 

8 


tt 
tt 








129 particles. 



Nineteenth Century. 



573 



s 

Si 



to 

Vi 



u 



^S 



S 



§ 



> 









« > 



•S err §-S-c 



CJfc<OOA 



a 

a 
.c-S 

R 2 o 

c 
u 



■sis- 

bo i s ^ 



O rt 



(J rj 1) UJ ot (A -C 



O 








exception 

completed, v. 

require 

revolution 


5f 




times 

identity 

satisfactorily 

established 

entire 

correspondence 

noted 

returns, n. 

recorded 

distinguished, adj. 

astronomers 

discovered 

determined 

comparatively 

mean, adj. 

generally 

visible 

aid, n. 

telescope, n. 


order, n. 

identify 

comet 

ascertain 

longitude 

orbit 

node 

inclination 

ecliptic 

eccentricity 

direction 

motion 
distance 
elements 

elliptic 

classes 

periods 
number 

several 


3 


previously 

appeared 

ascending 

facts 

called 

divided 

predicted 

revolving 

conspicuous 

objects, n. 

computed 

remaining 

very 
estimated 


■* 


ii ' 


c 
_o 

13 

'C 


H 










k 9 5 



•SsS. 



^ 



6y 



r 6 



^ 



~ 4> 



c 



574 English Period, A.D. 1600-1 878. 

Extract from the ^'London Times'''' of December 5, 1863. 

"The number of suggestions, which have lately appeared in our columns on 
the condition of the destitute poor of London, prove at once the magnitude 
of the evil and the extent of the efforts made to remedy it. It is really sur- 
prising to see how many various agencies for this purpose come to light, when 
attention is once called to the subject. They work beneath the surface of 
society in unknown homes of poverty ; their labor is almost unobserved, be- 
cause, alas ! when considered as a whole, almost ineffective ; and we forget 
their existence in ordinary times, as we forget the poverty itself. Besides the 
workhouses and the ordinary relief of the parish Clergyman, we have Refuges, 
Homes, Societies for the relief of the distressed, Institutions for distressed 
workpeople, and all manner of minor agencies for distributing and organizing 
charity. It was, indeed, not unreasonably suggested in the letter of "A 
London Curate" in a recent impression, that these agencies are too numerous 
and various. It may be that they work in too disconnected and haphazard a 
way, and fling largesses broadcast every winter," &c. 

181 common words, among which 



The 




occurs 


15 


times. 


a 




a 


4 


tt 


of 




<< 


8 


tt 


to 




<( 


4 


tt 


from 




<< 





tt 


in 




tt 


6 


tt 


with 




tt 





tt 


by 




tt 





tt 


Pro. of 1st 


person " 


4 


tt 


" 2d 


u 


tt 





tt 


" 3d 


u 


tt 


7 


tt 


be, aux. 




tt 


4 


a 


have, " 




u 


1 


a 


shall, " 




tt 





a 


will, " 




tt 





tt 


may, u 




tt 


1 


tt 


do, " 




tt 





ft 


that 




tt 


2 


tt 


and 




tt 

other particles, 


8 

64" 

25 


tt 



89 particles. 

Hence, the style of the London Times requires about 181 common words to 
obtain ioo different words, and averages about forty-nine per cent, particles, 
and forty-five per cent, repetitions. 



Nineteenth Century. 



575 






4 



< 






4 



So* 



s a 

OS 2 
< O 



° S 



| 8 .si 



JO 

ooo 



a- 

••C/3 C 

<-> O e . 



•w G 






^ 0J3 



-* G g ■" C > ,n u > 



So., 



3*1.flial^a1fi.*a 



■ S; Pen 

rips 



-j £ 5 5 



1 I 






cc" -3 S^w 

•* >,S u r.2Sjui5g'>»«u*j-2|5a 

! .2 MhoS S V] a c=t- g <u c ^ n v> 

!&.*?«§ 8.3 £ 8 !3-|ss*»£|g> 



o,u 



c-a 



o 5 



• 2.2 c o i2 £>>-=i! ,r.2u^-u> 



g.9 S 

u o 



<u 3 a a 

ftoa « 



C o 



"5 4T 



576 English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 

Extract from the Ci JVew York Herald" March 31, 1870. 

" PROCLAMATION OF THE FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT — NOW FOR A UNIVERSAL 

AMNESTY. 

" Upon the final passage of the bill yesterday for the restoration of Texas, 
the last of the list of the late Southern rebellious confederacy, the President 
promptly issued his proclamation of the ratification of the fifteenth amend- 
ment to the national constitution, establishing equal suffrage through all the 
length and breadth of the land to citizens of all races and colors, and regard- 
less of previous condition of servitude. 

" The right of the citizen, therefore (male, above the age of twenty-one), 
to vote in all our political elections, white man, black man, yellow man or red 
man, is fixed in the supreme law of the land, and North, South, East, and 
West the politicians of all parties will actively begin to cultivate the colored 
element in view of the balance of political power — eight hundred thousand 
voters — which it commands. The negro question is thus definitely settled 
on the broad basis of civil and political equality." 





164 


common 


words, 


among 


which 




The 






occurs 






21 


times, 


a 






u 






1 


t< 


of 






a 






18 


tt 


to 






it 






4 


tt 


from 






tt 









ft 


in 






« 






2 


tt 


with 






tt 









a 


by 






(t 









tt 


Pro. of 1st person 


u 









tt 


tt 


2d 


(< 


tt 









tt 


tt 


3d 


a 


tt 






2 


11 


be, 


aux. 




tt 






2 


tt 


have 


tt 




tt 









tt 


shall 


a 




ft 









tt 


will 


it 




tt 






1 


tt 


may 


it 




tt 









a 


do 


tt 




tt 









it 


that 






(f 









tt 


and 






tt 






6 

57 


tt 








other 


particles, 


9 





66 particles. 

Hence, the New York Herald's style requires about 164 common words to 
obtain 100 different words, and averages about forty per cent, particles, and 
thirty-nine per cent, repetitions. 



Nineteenth Century. 



S77 



u d 

Is 

« o 
l/> > 



§■3 

u. O 

CO 



.JfeOK! 



Id <! 

o 



m 
M 
O 

< 

o 

o 
w 

ft 

s 

u 

B 

M 

Ah 



o o 






^ u e^J ^ ^c 13 *■ ^ 3 c t! Si S- 15 

l. S ||I||ol4|l|iMiIf 



•5 
<~ 2 S * 



0) J3 o *3 



H Cj U g 






bJS.S 

I 8? 

■3 1* 






.— <« 

« c _ 3 






.as ft- 3 i. 



(J w 

,£S F g--S i- £- SJ2 £ o £« w^S^-a 8"o &H 

g§ 3 S. g fcSfc&--|2g3s-8g«g>§ 

ft rt u U ° « 



S « 2 3 <g -° o 1 

3 ao-o *> 



• 8 h 



^ 



578 



English Period, A.D. 1 600-1 878. 



Extract from the "New York Weekly Tribune? Nov. 22, 18 71. 

Horace greeley's opening editorial. 

" The consolidation of Italy, so long fragmentary and impotent, into one 
powerful State, with Rome as its capital ; the humiliation of France through 
a series of crushing defeats, ending with the siege and capitulation of her 
proud and gay metropolis ; the expulsion of the Bourbons from the Spanish 
throne, and the substitution for them of a scion of the most liberal among 
royal houses; the virtual absorption of the kingdoms of Saxony, Hanover, 
Bavaria, with Baden, Hesse, the Hanse Towns, &c, under the headship of 
Prussia, into the triumphant and powerful empire of North Germany ; and 
the arming of Russia to re-assert her preponderance in the councils of Europe, 
or to prosecute her often postponed, but never relinquished designs on the great 
city founded by Constantine, and the vast but decaying and anarchical dominion 
of the Sultan, all combine to invest with profound interest the ever-changing 
phases of our tidings from the Old World. The Tribune, through trusted 
correspondents stationed at all points in Europe, where great movements are 
in progress or imminent, aims to present a complete and instructive panorama 
of events on that continent, and to mirror," &c. 



170 common words, among which 



The 


occurs 


18 times. 


a 


u 


3 


« 


of 


a 


15 


(C 


to 


M 


4 


(( 


from 


u 


2 


«< 


in 


ct 


2 


u 


with 


a 


4 


tt 


by 


a 


1 


et 


Pronoun, ist person " 


1 


U 


« 2 d " 


u 





«< 


" 3d " 


a 


4 


a 


be, aux. 


« 





(( 


have, " 


a 





(t 


shall, " 


a 





u 


will, " 


u 





u 


may, u 


u 





u 


do, «' 


<( 





u 


that 


u 


1 


(( 


and 


u 


10 

65 


(( 




other particles, 


17 





82 particles. 



Hence, Gi'eeley's style required about 170 common words to furnish 100 
different words, and averaged about 48 per cent, particles and forty-one per 
cent, repetitions. 



Nineteenth Century. 



579 



^ 

^ 
^ 

S 

^ 

•^ 

I 



I 



5 

1 



V» 



•^ 

5 



i±>\ 


§ 


















si 


y 










k 


P 

s 
u 

M 




w ji -5 6 2-S •• g 

• s t>.3c~G::_G 1) 








5> 




en ? 




ojd,<op^ b 








? < 




p. 












00 w M 










m tj- 








5 — 












« Z 












< O 












^ > 










u 












p 








■^ 














^ 






Id > 




>' 




<s 






V 2 








g 






o 3 

04 "5 


.^5 


1 


M 


,<o 


H 




■ 2 

2 b 


^ 


rt 




<« 






o 









<J 






►« 


•o 






■8 








« 






k 


V) 












<a 


W 

o 

< 


i 


3 


1 


M 






o 


s 










3 


o 


< 


8 






*^i 


-° k* 


< 


y 
z 
< 
S 


I 


O '1 >« 

en rt,fl 


CO 




is 


fe 


Ci 








j) jj 


o 

w 

a, 

H 

o 


PS 

S 

o 
6 

a 

? 
6 

s 


J 


ilslJlst^tlfsisi 


CO 


1*1 "8 

ft * b 

3 ^ 


i/i 


E 


> 
U 
to 


1 


*«jM8-Rjj-?H«i|jjril 






<! 






J3 ^ 






6 










o 




















, «)u . 








2 






t>_> S > 








<j 


jj 




ill $ 

Ei3 B fa 

SJS'S 


-* 








< 




*3 




"VI 




b 












Z 
H 


^ 

£ 

*■ 


o 


1 1 




K 


K 

o 
y 

3 

M 

w 




o 


.Soo b 

■a "^ 


u c • s ^ c a " 
5^_-.o m c .2 On, .2— 2 « Wrti2 

r u - "O rt 3 rt u 

t» — u in >-. 




c* 




a. 




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6 








- 1 




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9 




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.2 ** •- s ^ «*o o c 1 










i 


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1 

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>1 


rt 5 S m O "5 £, h 3 c ~ in 

S &S « «s § u 8 a a s 

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n 



MO 



J: w 
"Ecu 

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580 English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 

Extract from Tennyson" 1 s "Ode to Memory" 

" Large dowries doth the raptured eye 

To the young spirit present, 

When first she is wed ; 

And like a bride of old 

In triumph led, 

With music and sweet showers 

Of festal flowers, 
Into the dwelling she must sway. 
Well hast thou done, great artist memory, 
In setting round thy first experiment 
With royal frame- work of wrought gold, 
Needs must thou dearly love thy first essay, 
And foremost in thy various gallery 

Place it, where sweetest sunlight falls 

Upon the storied walls ; 

For the discovery 
And newness of thine art so pleased thee, 
That all, which thou hast drawn of fairest 

Or boldest since but lightly weighs 
With thee unto the love thou bearest. 
The first born of thy genius, artist like, 
Even retiring thou dost gaze 
On the prime labor of thine early days ; 
No matter what the sketch may be ; 
Whether the high field or the bushless Pike, 
Or even a sand-built ridge," &c. 









157 


common woi 


ds, among which 




The 






occurs 


10 


times. 


have, 


aux. 


occurs 


2 times. 


a 






tt 


2 


" 


shall, 


" 


<< 


" 


of 






it 


6 


tt 


will, 


cc 


cc 


" 


to 






tt 


1 


tt 


may, 


u 


tt 


1 " 


from 






tt 





tt 


do, 


kt 


tt 


2 " 


in 






tt 


3 


tt 


that 




tt 


1 " 


with 






tt 


3 


tt 


and 




tt 


3 " 


by 






tt 





tt 










Pronoun 


1st 


per. 


cc 





tt 








5o 


«< 


2d 


It 


tt 


12 


tt 




other particles, 


23 


<< 


3d 


tt 


tt 


3 


tt 










be, aux. 






" 


1 


tt 








73 partic 



Hence, Tennyson's poetic style requires about 157 common words to obtain 
100 different words, and averages about forty-seven per cent, particles and 
thirty-six per cent, repetitions. 



Nineteenth Century. 



581 



2. 






«: 
5 .SQ< 




A. -C C 


in 


^> tea 


W 


*» c 3 


(') 


^ 'S-o 


<U 


h -5 Ji 


D 


ordance 
be confer 


O 




in 




fc 8 * 




k « 


w 


^■st 


- 




> 


•§ ja 


H 


•c 




s a ,_• 


U 


$ o~£ 


H 


v£ S 

> 8 


w 

PL, 


s> -= 


< 


8 « 




^ rt 
§ * 


2 


h 4* 


3 



•^ I 



■3P-3 



3e 



2 < 



HI < 

o 



V t^ M >0 N M M M 



■*3 5:3 te u " E — 13 -^ 



►JO 



O C o'-O 

OOOtfl 



O 
Pi 



s-jfs-s &d-S 3.-2 



a ^ 






i*J3 



u -f"^ w>* 



E ? S ~ &« g,£ £ bo 



»^* 



■00 o * 5 3 






«.S2 *r. 



b . 



5^ 



i U lfe'5 B ^MS 8 Oil 



J3.3 Q>tn'n-2"rt'S c 



^ 






"5 I 



M ° 

■§.h> 

I a> 
r <u.« 



in.- a 

O O ni 






lq-3 



a 5js 

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.so 

= -s-s 

„-go 

-5 "Sid 

•£ W a 
^ v 53 

M 4-. « 

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&. 2 a 


•0 


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33 


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^2? 




rtO"*- 




^ -° 




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If 



582 English Period, A.D. 1 600-1 878. 

Extract from Gladstone's Speech on Legislation for Working- 
men, delivered at Greenwich, October 28, 1871. 

" Now, gentlemen, I am drawing very near my close, but I must still refer 
to the sentiment, which undoubtedly has been more perceptible in the country 
during the present year, than I have noticed it in a good many former years — 
I mean the suspicion on the part of many members of the working classes, 
that they are not governed as they ought to be, and that their interests are 
not properly considered. Well, I will not enter upon the particular causes, 
connected with the state of Europe, which may go far to account for that 
sentiment ; but I will venture to say this : that I think the workingmen will 
do well briefly and calmly to review history with respect to the last eighteen 
years. I take that period — I might take a longer one — but I take that period, 
because it enables me to present results in a tolerably simple form, and be- 
cause it is a period within which I have been most intimately conversant with 
a number of questions, with which the welfare of the masses of the community 
is deeply and directly concerned Now, within those eighteen years, what 
has taken place affecting all," &c. 

198 common words, among which 



The 






occurs 


9 


times. 


a 






« 


5 


u 


of 






tt 


5 


(< 


to 






tt 


6 


tt 


in 






tt 


3 


tt 


with 






tt 


5 


tt 


from 






tt 





tt 


by 






tt 





(t 


Pronoun ist 


person 


u 


13 


(C 


«< 


2d 


tt 


tt 





tt 


«« 


3d 


tt 


tt 


6 


a 


be, aux. 






tt 


6 


tt 


have, " 






u 


4 


tt 


shall, " 






tt 





tt 


will, " 






tt 


3 


it 


may, u 






u 


2 


tt 


do, " 






tt 





it 


that 






tt 


5 


(( 


and 






tt 


3 

75 


(t 






other particles, 


33 





108 particles. 
Hence, Gladstone's style requires about 198 common words to obtain 100 
different words, and averages about fifty-four per cent, particles and forty- 
nine per cent, repetitions. 



Nineteenth Century. 



583 






S 

s; 



WO, 



w > 



I ill 

_lte<500 



OO 






£3 



^0 



8 

1 









o cjH 






3^ 



sr 



rc .S ,3 3 O^-p 



s 8 ^ g s g 
bog S S ° 



±* ^jtinj ^3Ji"SirsS B-= cue 

jjf&fgtiifftiJ!gg!|j 



33>»i 



3 u 'JiE 






1|I'|fllf11III|I1I 



2 * 



■si 

4) S 






■fe 



■& 

a 



584 



English Period \ A.D. 1 600-1 878. 



Extract from President Grant's Inaugural Address* March 

4, 1869. 

" Citizens of the United States : 

" Your suffrages having- elected me to the office of President of the United 
States, I have, in conformity with the Constitution of our country, taken the 
oath of office prescribed therein. I have taken this oath without mental 
reservation, and with the determination to do, to the best of my ability, all 
that it requires of me. 

" The responsibilities of the position I feel, but accept them without fear. 
The office has come to me unsought ; I commence its duties untrammeled. 
I bring to it a conscientious desire and determination to fill it to the best of 
my ability to the satisfaction of the people. On all leading questions agitat- 
ing the public mind I will always express my views to Congress, and urge 
them according to my judgment, and when I think it advisable, will exercise 
the constitutional privilege of interposing a veto to defeat measures which I 
oppose. But all laws will be faithfully executed, whether they meet my ap- 
proval or not. 

" I shall on all subjects have a policy to recommend, none to enforce, 
against the will of the people. Laws are to govern all alike— those opposed 
to as well," &c. 

198 common words, among which 



The 




occurs 


17 


times. 


have, 


aux. 


occurs 


4 


times. 


a 




k 


3 


a 


shall, 


u 


tt 


1 


tt 


of 




tt 


9. 


tt 


will, 


it 


tt 


3 


tt 


to 




a 


14 


a 


may, 


t< 


tt 





tt 


from 




*t 





tt 


do, 


tt 


u 





tt 


in 




*t 


1 


tt 


that 




it- 


1 


tt 


with 




M 


2 


u 


and 




it 


4 


tt 


by 

Pro. of 1 st 
" 2d 


per. 


tt 
ft 
tt 




16 

1 


tt 
it 
tt 




other 


particles, 


85 
17 




« 3d 
be, aux. 


a 


tt 
It 


8 

1 


<< 
tt 








102 particles. 



Hence, President Grant's style requires about 198 common words to fur- 
nish 100 different words, and averages fifty- two per cent, particles, and forty- 
nine per cent, repetitions. 



* As every American who can read does usually read the President's In- 
augural Address, it is the fittest linguistic representative of its day. 



Nineteenth Century. 



585 






w 





*o *■■ 


C 
O 

a.. 


100 

Greco La 
Gotho-G< 


Latin : 
French : 
Anjjlo-S. 
German 


a 

V 
V 

a. 




N 00 



* 

V 



H 



5: 

•a 



§-g -9 §•■§•§ ^J g-J I rt ?1 tf 3 gj gig 



m e .S 3 c u 

, « g.S u a --S 5-5 J><2 o"2 o «-> rt jjTS ~ .. p 



?d&g^iJs r |>J- s -g'3 



- W OJC P ^ W 

-Q-S'P'H'O <u 



■2.5 ^<£ 3 S« ags<-~ o 



fe 

^ 



u 



ilsJBl&lfbJiJtBjfiit;* 
°" *gi 8, ir e ft & "I'88-«lM 

3 



M 6? rf .tS 



^Wis jj wo.© " JJ-^ 



N 6 



586 



English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 



Extract from Queen Victorians Address to Parliament, February 

6, 1866.* 

' ' My Lords and Gentlemen : 

" It is with great satisfaction that I have recourse to your assistance and 
advice. 

" I have recently declared my consent to a marriage between my daughter, 
Princess Helena and Prince Christian of Schleswig Holstein Sonderbourgh- 
Augustenburg. I trust this union may be prosperous and happy. 

" The death of my beloved uncle, the King of the Belgians, has affected 
me with profound grief. I feel great confidence, however, that the wisdom, 
which he evinced during his reign, will animate his successor, and preserve for 
Belgium her independence and prosperity. 

4i My relations with foreign powers are friendly and satisfactory, and I see 
no cause to fear any disturbance of the general peace. The meeting of the 
fleets of France and England in the ports of the respective countries has tended 
to cement the amity of the two nations, and to prove to the world their 
friendly concert in the promotion of peace. 

"I have observed with satisfaction that the United States, after terminating 
successfully the severe struggle in which they were so long engaged, are wisely 
repairing the ravages of civil war. The abolition of slavery is an event call- 
ing," &c. 

178 common words, among which 



The 




occurs 


17 


times. 


have, 


aux 


occurs 


41 


.imes. 


a 






t< 


2 


ic 


shall, 


tt 


tt 





tt 


of 






K 


II 


ct 


will, 


tt 


tt 


I 


tt 


to 






tt 


6 


tt 


may, 


M 


t« 


I 


tt 


from 






U 





(< 


do, 


«t 


a 





a 


in 






(( 


3 


tt 


that 




tt 


3 


tt 


with 






(( 


4 


tt 


and 




tt 


6 


tt 


by 






<( 





a 








— 




Pro. oi 


1st 


person 


tt 


11 


tt 








79 




tt 


2d 


it 


<< 


1 


ct 




other 


particles, 


11 




*t 


3d 


<t 


tt 


7 


tt 








— 




be, aux 




It 


2 


ct 








90 particles. 



Hence, Queen Victoria's diplomatic style requires about 178 
words to furnish 100 different words, and averages fifty per cent, par 
a a npr rpnt renetitinns 



^ common 

._, and averages fifty per cent, particles and 

44 per cent, repetitions. 

* As every word in a document like this is considered and studied by the 
author, and eagerly canvassed by every Englishman who can read, it is one 
of the fittest linguistic representatives of its day, especially referring, as it 
does, to domestic and State affairs. 



Nineteenth Century. 



587 



3ft 

I" 



•a g to c g 13 



o 2 o 



OOC" 



3S Z 
< O 



"fes 



4 



*3 



1 



s 



8 



J •• 

U > 

V J 

o 
u 



a. to 
cd to 

J= 3 






3 £ 



jsl I ' J! J3S» 



•5* D ^J 



!^> 



„ ,io cl3 ,, [..S wa „>, 

&8.-3S 



5 S o a S,g a g 6-2 a E 5 S £ 8,3 g-g 

U E U y Q.O a v u t* 



O « 8 •>.•« C &<« 3 _. 



i.s.HJ-8 



2 to s > 33-j- c 



"S s.i'-i §| liJl'l i'il'i'&II.Ss !sl 



"2 .r° c ^ s*'a b-" b0 
.a S p 3 a fi-s 5 >*3 



588 English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 

After closing our analysis with England's Queen, it is but fair 
we should mention here one of England's bravest daughters, Mrs. 
Belzoni, whose presence cheered her husband's arduous explora- 
tions in Egypt, which added to the British Museum its finest relics : 
the colossal head, styled the Young Memnon, the Alabaster Sarco- 
phagus, &c. As she was long among Moslem women, she wrote 
an interesting sketch of their manners, customs and mode of life, 
which, being a unique acquisition to English literature, deserves 
attention and perusal. While in Brussels, 1849 an d 1850, we 
became acquainted with Mrs. Belzoni, who, the day before our 
departure, came and invited my wife and me to take tea with her. 
We were the only guests. As she ever took a warm interest in 
archeologic researches and discoveries, we conversed freely about 
them. She spoke of Gliddon and his writings on Egyptian anti- 
quities, then added : 

** I was with my husband during his arduous labors in Egypt and traversed 
the Holy Land with only a guide ; now I have but one desire, which is to 
visit America, in order to see Niagara and those Indian Mounds, described 
by Davis and Squier." 

From such conversation, on the part of one nearly "three 
score and ten," may be inferred, that she was still young in mind. 
Thus the evening had passed delightfully, and we were about 
taking leave, when she asked me in a most winning manner : 

" Doctor, will you do me a favor ? " As I had previously given her medi- 
cal advice, I thought her request was of a professional character. " Certainly, 
madam, I will do anything in my power for you." " Then you will accept 
this hand : I have borne it about me for twenty-two years, in remembrance 
of my husband and his discoveries." "I am the last man to deprive you of 
so precious a relic." " But you just now said you would do anything in your 
power for me ; it is certainly in your power to receive it as a memento of me." 
" As such, madam, I will gratefully accept and keep it." 

It was the hand of the mummy of the Egyptian priestess her 
husband found in the tomb of Psammuthis, 1818, to which she 
added manuscripts and diagrams of Egyptian Freemasonry ; then 
she seized a pen and wrote on them : " My unlettered Theory." 
The mummy of the priestess is in the Brussels Museum, minus 
the right hand. Those interesting relics are now in my posses- 
sion. In 1851 I was delighted to learn, that Parliament had 
granted her an annual pension of ^100. 



ORIGIN OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



" Language is the armory of the human mind, containing at once the trophies of the past, 
and the weapons for its future conquests." — Coleridge. 

Before we could reach the origin of the English language, we 
had to trace its progress from the earliest written document, 
King Ethelbert's Code of Laws, A.D. 597, showing ninety -four 
per cent. Anglo-Saxon and six per cent. Greco-Latin — to the 
" Constitution of the United States," 1789, numbering but thirty- 
six per cent. Anglo-Saxon and sixty-two per cent. Greco-Latin. 
As we advanced in this long vista of thirteen centuries, we noticed 
the linguistic and literary progress by pointing out numerous 
authors and events that stimulated thought, language, and liter- 
ature ; even a new discovery in art or science, whether in or out 
of England, was mentioned in its place and time, so as to indicate 
when and how ideas and words came into England's idiom. Any 
movement that favored intellectual activity, or betokened mental 
stagnation, was eulogized or stigmatized. Any author, whose 
writings influenced Europe's advancement, finds a grateful tribute 
in these pages, showing the cream and essence of linguistic lore, 
now to be found in the English language, as set forth in our fifty 
Tables of the English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. The expansion 
of the English speaking populations is mentioned en passant. 
Thus only could we fully and properly portray the workings of the 
Anglo-Saxon, Franco-English, and English mind from A.D. 597 
to 1878. Only in this English period, when the language has 
passed through its various transitions, can we trace its origin 
from the fifty Tables, numbering 5,000 words, among which par- 
ticles like the, of, and, &c, occur each fifty times ; so other words 
are repeated among the 5,000. We therefore again drop repeti- 
tions, and only retain different words, as may be observed in the 
following columns of Ultimate Totals and percentages, that irre- 
vocably prove the origin of the English language : 



59o 



English Period, A.D. 1600- 187 8. 



* 

^ 






1 



S 
& 

ff 



25 



£ 3 



s fc 



<?> 

°i 

6 

x 



S i-h cn 



bO hJO in in ^ 

"3b S BS S Si 3 £ B « b ££ S-S §-? 5 






JSwSw^lSoiS 



2 K 5 
.0 



c o 



■a « 



s^sss 



<0 b( 



^ ee s 



E S3 



E 6 gc S 



p, p,«i — 



ES 



•S 41 « 



g P.,q«- 



g > C 






M 1/1 • r3 
rt <L) tj 



6'? 



2 6 



a HIS SJS"S JS Q a ti g c a «£j > £ -^5 






Nineteenth Century. 



591 



.v> . ,*> •« 

I •■§! ^s g ■ 

« N 00 



UT3 >»JJ 






«-. *j <" W C _, 



^CM 



&**•*£ S-J 



1.. C r" *0 t/J 

c.E.2 ° u '0 J: C- 

(1 X C «ft!l OK 
U _v •- ti; "! C O 



•>..— ii 60~ „, 4) 1) V U) 4J 




•3 § HIIS'ifi'MI 1 9| B-5! § I J *#*§*§ 1? 

111! § 1 gs-es-e-si ss rsl §1 1S1 u< 

o up. 



I'D c o <* 



8fc\ 



o-ooE 



ftME <u _ 

' «< 2 n, 



_o 



"S..SJ-2 u 

• =\E « « 

u o,3 IS 
.B.S'S g 

ftES 6 



- ""V t « 4-> 

.2 o 2 o'Ctc - 
«S.E?^ & 



„ J= « - >> 

>,c B'i! <= £ £2 § e "> m <8 £ u v v 

if 8 i&81|I«B'SMii&*gl& 

C 3 uj 60 a: C w £ g » - - 1 - rt "o 



c >» 



INillliiUllill 



s-ia**"'? w"« 






r^as 



<fl tr. U 

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60 . en wfl >> 



■g p.* 



„, 0.2.0 ■- j. ,5i»fiftC g 

m»*£iJmiA«i ^ 



i&iss 



y S °rE 

3 £ &1 



o\d 



vd t^oo 6\ d 



. E 
o g 



00 o o 



■si -p 



592 



English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 









1 



i 






w < 



> r 1 



u < 



H S 
o < 

6 

X 



slllll-3-i 



iss 



o 



mmnnmuirm n 



3 s 




«■» }! DCS 



i !" "1 C ^ 

S.bl^-ss-i-sS'.i 



IllrilgliSI-iiiiilliiUI 



u o 



a! o 

P. a, 



.S2 p,W(i-^« rt 



o g.s 2' 



B'5 



ranslatioi 
flora 
fauna 

nterferenc 


u 

r 

3 




fecundity 
duration 

advent 
xplanatio 

0. 
opponent 
hristianiz 
repulsion 
currency 
lines 

intellect 


t> 


rt 

u 


ubjugatio 
castles 

test 
eculiariti* 


•■" 




v u 






ui a. 






►J 1) n* iri^d t-~od o\ 






d m 


CO 




ro ommmm roroco 






■*■ ■* 



V 3 

II 



d 0' d 



cocirororo rocoro 



Nineteenth Century. 



593 







.v» 














1 


is 


i 




I 


1 


! 


2 








lo 




VO 














N 




M 




N 




■1 

1 


3 

£ 


8 

I 

0> 


T3 

O 

u 

d 


1 

a 


o 

ft 

d 


8 

I 
3 


V 

Tuna 

IN 





Ui tfl 



1*3 S? 





O 







H 


N 


ro -<j- 


lO 






















<b 
































Si 


<u 


8 


& 










s? 


a 
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Ifl 










5s. 


* 


& 







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Q P.S «'5j!j.2 



!.^s^2 s.s!-B-S c- 2 s'2 S"3 c >^a-S g^ fr*^ g 

!— 5 a. J^ o 2~ o g Jj.g « c rt -= •:: ft <j i-. a- a. 2 o S ft r^ 

. a |Sll|p?fl||l||l|l|||-?l| 

rt ft " P^O « p (, U "- V, 



S ft-s'i i 


















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o.-a 
"«-a 

a y 
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g 


u 




o. 

columns 

magnitude 

curate 




■r. 
a 

"o 

C 
c 
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— ' 




CL 

2 d S 

« a 

'£ 


B 

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> 


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successor 

disturbance 

slavery 

calling 


VO 












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to 




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= 
3 
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d 




d d d 








6 


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S 










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t>.oo o\ 









to 







594 



English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 



* 

bq 






•3 



& 



2SB 






15 



o < 









Wl 










1> 

5 


V 


8 


a 

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3 






k 






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in 


3 




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in 


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w 








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i2 c 

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5 § «-s s-5 tg J d-g %^ •&§••! ^'s 

'3 . '5 . . . . 

vo c s fjco o\ o m 



?? h< t» "*« 



V, fl V 
3 O"o 

c\c </) 

^2 O =1 

.2 £ 6 



C 3 






n n B 



II 



p-l 1| 6:|| I § I g-jji &j Jl 8'j j| 2 1 sl-S 
ill gj r E -i 2 S r § ^I^IJ ^ *" 

3 rt C w o 

o> d m 

w <S W 



Nineteenth Century. 



595 



<n 




a 


►§ 






ft 


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co 







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3 


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to 


$ 

ts 


C 




<u 
















f^. 


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to 




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3 I ' 



P. ,- — c ^ c<-. te& am -c "P« S M «i «! "> m J2 K, £ w 



N 






ro-4- 


tA 


\o t>> 


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ro ro 




ro co 


CO ro 






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£ 


«A 













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3 is 5 ft l 



§ V 



5*1 S 






c ' 5/i o "« ? rt *o 



'HS-p^i 






8 ts «2 c2 
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s « n o «> 



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►*Hort3"-'rtw 
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ftaj t. o 

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rt ^>fty 



596 



English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 



00 

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C| 






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49. sketch 
Danish : 


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s^ 



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C S"d 



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ho , 

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4) 8 



fro" 



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JSi'Oo'a 



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2 £ . ■£ o c c ■ 

u v 3 M3 rt rt 
■ rt't'd p,« -• 

3 rt g g'^ 
c G o « « 3 

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o U) (J W 



Nineteenth Century. 



597 





















N 




s 
•8 

it 


H 






00 


1 


•<*■ 


1 


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1 

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05 


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3 


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1 -illll: II ifillliliii III II 

00 o\ 

ro ro 



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agg. 






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U P,S.2J3 

g,s-o « 



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598 



English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 



00 
00 



I 



■fe. 






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8 






si 



K Z 

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a "• 



O < 



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8 s o § s IS J.-2 
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c S3 « S2 






ill I s -- 



IJiillti^lSuS 



v I 2 1 1 § gS £ 3 si 

" O.S « "1 



O u) 

■$3 <u . 



,£js 



Nineteenth Century. 



599 



it ! * I H ! M 



6 3 g £ 






8 >» 



h i* i I s sg 8.s-s.a'S ^S&ec 
aifg^i-o StS rtu a2is«s. 3 3 §2*8 



O 0) fl 

■r- <U O 



'S So-: 



So. 



aa| 1 aiS'H § § s.-s 8 S, s § ££ s.a 
mS g-l'-S g 2 o g-g § rt $ g |»8.| g.a a 
^ .5 8-n-g S Sd3 



WO „ 
o 



a » 



i.i «'S-g 



v * 1 

*- « 3 
5 



i-&<i'H«jjijr|-"lt 



6oo 



English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 



£ 

^ 



•Q CO 



£ 

£ 



*, 









II 



2 2 
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6S 






l>. 



3 * 






*■§! >ls «* -la s5 a»j| ||I-§1 lis 



bo >. 



•a ■£■ 



0, £. ' 



^ « y 






3 y 

a 9 £ 



fi|tI|iJ'iilIi!.!Fl!lI^ § 



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! * b •« S > I 



S 9" u « .2 5" 2-§ S'S t3 y. 



S rt > i!_ u „ ^ 

3»-SoHS.SH8 



be-. 



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Nineteenth Century. 



60 1 



1 


7. hurl'd 
12. attempted 


1 


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£ s 

rt'd 
0, 


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4) 

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s 


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4 ^ 


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o «... . . . . 

IOVO tA. 00 OlOMNfO-J-lOVO t^00 Ol 



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■dfl 



-d-d « c 
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"d"d 

rt Op 



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ii 8'? 



"duu'C'd 



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I §?§ j-g-|8 p|I |f| yiliii « Si lit 8^1 II S BJ p| 



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pli bo-a 2 M u « -d u-o-r, c „ 
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p l|s J P s lF|ll:i||1l!lii8sg 



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ftp. 



1 o « a 

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P 3? E o, c * ™ 



o 



y 

NO* IOVO t^ ™ 
« W N M N « 



602 



English Period, A.D.i 600- 1878. 



00 




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00 








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M 




3 




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£ 

£ 


Ph 


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£ 


Ph 


s 


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k 




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73 o • ~ ft £ • r £ q. J3 c . 2 c3 3 Jv 3 . « <u • ~ 



rt rt 






a, 

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■sij , s.s , s , s3 

ft^l-al 



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£ ft 



gigUggSi'lHI 

ftB -c 



ftjD fS -rl 



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Nineteenth Century. 



603 




CO CO 



£« I « g.sJJ-S-S.S.f.S.S 2.-2.* w>| o g g. 



1 c Era "2 " o'2'S j* 



CO -<f lOVO t^OO 0\ 



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s .i §j § o § aagJ ^ °-> si-si I «■§ 



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£ B-S 



fi o 



b£ 



5 ^j;. 




e ag 5 S-Ji-g 

s 3 m a 



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604 



English Period, A.D. 1600- 187 8. 



00 

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W 

w 
> 

B 

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8 


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s 

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Welsh : 


>> 

us 








2 
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s 

K 

w 

6 


1 


winding 
drooping 

wont 
lingering 

21. ready 
earnest 

short 

22. starry 
silvery 

watchful 

23. nine 

24. quick 

full 

25. fat 
wholesome 

half 
white 
lean 
dark 
yellow 

oily 

26. six 
main 

fifteen 
hundred 

27. colder 

next 




6 

X 
u 

10 


1. good 

first 

one 

dry 

third 

two 

great 

lesser 

fourth 

open 

euery 

liuing 

winged 

fift 

2. faire 
sweete 

sicke 
lowd 
new 

3. many 

little 

small 

both 

rich 

all 

4. deep 
bold 



CO 












m 



ro ■* 



ro ro 



3 3£ 2 "5 2 



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o g c w>> b 



<u 2 3 > 3^3 rt {3 
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Nineteenth Century. 



605 





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c 3 rt ^ 8 £' a 



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050 
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u j 2 o ? 



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3 1-1 ■£ c y cw~ ■ 



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S o| o o I « 
■»JT ,a I U J 

6 >i «' ntifl 



S.8-S ° 8^ ° °£'s^ 



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6o6 



English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 



00 

00 









I 









S3 



65 






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8 


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<^ 


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$ 


55 



3 £ JJ'f^ OS'S Ji-"? '5 -9 






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9 b « 5 2-js o 

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Nineteenth Century. 



607 






I 



4 
3 

$ 
& 

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s 



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q 



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£ E Si 

• ?t nt *> • • 



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f> t*- irivo t^OO 0\ O H 



■ 10*0 t^OO 0\ o 



° ° oj O 






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>d t^-cxj d\ d 






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<u E-3 



£I§ 









>> * ^^? 



o,u 3CE-375 
oo3ww«oE.So' r 2.y^.^ 

3 « « b S 5 ° ° 



tn.fa "*0 0,0 3. 

3 g 3 3 OVB 
""''d "^ o,§' 



t^co os 



^Is |"§£ 



u->\d t^.cd 6-0 ►* 



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5 
ft 
5 
u 

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d 


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t^OO 


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4" S > g O 3 -/i 

ft 3 0.-3 T. 8 



w m 1*1 ■<*■ lOVO t^oo o* 



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W N M CO CO fO fO 1 



6o8 



English Period ', A.D. 1600-1878. 



25 
3S 









r 
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610 English Period, A.D. 1600- 187 8. 

Origin of the English Language, as shown by our Numeric 
Analysis of English Literature. 

The preceding totals of the fifty Tables of the Eng- 
lish Period, A.D. 1 600-1 878, number 2,282 ultimate 
different words, derived from twenty-two dead and 
living languages. Among these 2,282 ultimate dif- 
ferent words — 

1,557 are Greco-Latin, including 1,224 French; 
686 " Gotho-Germanic, including 643 Anglo- 
Saxon ; 
35 " Celtic; 
3 " Semitic ; 
1 " Sclavonic. 



2,282 

Hence, the English language contains : 

68+ per cent. Greco-Latin, including 53 per cent. 

French ; 
30+ " Gotho-Germanic, including 28 per 

cent. Anglo-Saxon ; 
2- " Celtic, and 

Traces of Semitic and Sclavonic. 

Hallam says : " We cannot well assign a definite 
origin to our present language." We think our close 
numeric analysis assigns as definite an origin to the 
English language as can be reached. As the Eng- 
lish vocabulary counts fifty-three per cent. French, 
Joseph Bosworth, D.D., F.R.S., F.R.A., was correct 
in stating: "The foreign words in the English lan- 
guage are for the most part used to express scien- 
tific or abstract ideas, and were introduced from the 
French." To corroborate the above figures and 



Nineteenth Century. 6n 

percentages, furnished by our numeric analysis of 
English literature, we average Walker's and Web- 
ster's Dictionaries : 

Noah Webster, in his " Dictionary of the English Language," 
1861, Author's Preface, p. xiv., says : "What individual is com- 
petent to trace to their source, and define in ail their various 
applications, popular, scientific, and technical, seventy or eighty 
thousand words ? " 

We averaged the words therein,* and found about : 

55,524 Greco-Latin words. 

22,220 Gotho-Germahic (mostly Anglo-Saxon) " 

443 Celtic " 

98 Sclavonic " 

1,724 Semitic (Hebrew and Arab.) " 



80,009 
We also averaged Walker's " Critical Pronouncing Dictionary 
and Expositor of the English Language," Edinburgh edition, 
1852, and realized about : 

56,108 Greco-Latin words. 

21,777 Gotho-Germanic (mostly Anglo-Saxon) " 
461 Celtic " 

768 Semitic " 

79 ; IX 4 
The averages of the above figures, from the two dictionaries, 
give about 

70 per cent. Greco-Latin ; 
27 u Gotho-Germanic; 
i-| ' f Semitic ; 

■§- of one per cent. Celtic, and a fraction of Slavonic. 
As the percentages of our close numeric analysis of English 
literature nearly agree with the above, we may consider them as 
correct as possible. 

* By counting the words of a page in each of the twenty-six letters, and 
tracing them to their origin ; then averaging them and multiplying the aver- 
ages by the number of pages in the Dictionary, we obtained the above figures. 



612 English Period, A.D. I 600-1 878. 

Thomas Shaw, in his " Outlines of English Literature," p. 44, 
says : " The English now consists of about 38,000 words." Some 
anonymous writer, who had the patience to count the words in 
each part of speech, observes : " There are in the English lan- 
guage 20,500 nouns, 40 pronouns, 9,200 adjectives, 8,000 verbs, 
2,600 adverbs, 69 prepositions, 19 conjunctions, 68 interjections, 
and 2 articles ; in all about 40,498 words." No doubt the figures 
of Shaw and of the anonymous writer refer to school dictionaries, 
in which many scientific and technical words are omitted. Since 
people speak of language, as though it were within the covers of 
some Dictionary or Encyclopedia, let us survey its domain as to 
time, space, and importance. According to the Sacred Record, 
language antedates everything, even light ; for God said : Let 
there be light ; called the light Day, the darkness Night, the 
firmament Heaven, the gathering together of the waters Seas, 
&c. — (Gen. i. 3-1 1.) Thus, Elohim uttered and formed lan- 
guage before He made man, animals, or plants. 

Next we read, Gen. ii. 19, 20: "Adam gave names to all 
cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field 
— and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was 
the name thereof." Then followed the dialogue between Eve and 
the serpent, Gen. iii. 1-6 ; the conversation between the Lord God, 
Adam and Eve in the garden, 9-20. " Cain talked with Abel, his 
brother," Gen. iv. 8 ; also the dialogue between the Lord God 
and Cain, Gen. iv. 9-16. Thenceforth language progressed 
among Adam's progeny for ages, till the Deluge, when it was 
confined to Noah and his family, who, after floating on the waters 
that inundated the Earth, spied land, and exclaimed, Gen. viii. 
4 : u Ar-ar-at / " which is but the Hebrew for earth, earth ahead ; 
in other words : " Land, land, ahead" as sailors are wont to sing 
out when they see terra firma. As the primitive Hebrew root, 
ar, seems to signify earth or ground, Gen. iv. 2, it may be in- 
ferred that the dialect of Noah and his family was Hebrew. 
Gen. xi. 1 and 6, the Sacred Historian tells us: "The whole 
Earth was of one language and of one speech" &c. The Lord 
said, "Behold the people is one and they have all one language." 
Soon we read, Gen. xi. 9, of "Babel," or the confusion of lan- 
guage. By these primitive linguistic allusions we may realize 
that Moses was quite a philologist, for he seems to have watched 



Nineteenth Century. 613 

and studied language with peculiar interest. Yet we are told 
philology is a modern science, when we find the term philologie 
in Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" A.D. 1390, and when Moses 
mentions the origin, progress, oneness, and multiplication of lan- 
guage in the first eleven chapters of his remarkable Record, 
penned thirty-five centuries ago. True, he does not trace roots 
and derivations as we do, because the language he mentions was 
one and primitive. Thus we find in that ancient book the ele- 
ments of most sciences — cosmogony, theogony, astronomy, agri- 
culture, mineralogy, botany, zoology, philology, and even chem- 
istry, which, together with metallurgy, was needed to make the 
"molten calf" from the "golden earrings" Exod. xxxiv. 4, and 
this knowledge the Jewish sage did not transmit to us in hiero- 
glyphic, or in mysterious cabalistic and Cabiric symbols, signs, 
and figures, but in clear, distinct, alphabetic characters, known 
in his day to the Israelites, Arabs, Canaanites, and Phenicians, 
who carried them to most of the ancient nations, who formed 
their alphabet therefrom. Hence, let who will sneer at the 
Mosaic Record (which seems now to be the fashion), any one 
who will impartially analyze it, must consider it as the starting- 
point of primitive tradition and knowledge ; for, taking it merely 
as a historic record, what should we know of the ancient world, 
tribes, peoples, nations, and races without the Pentateuch, which 
has been, is, and will be evoking thought, developing dialects and 
languages, expanding and enriching literature, art, and science 
all over the globe. No other history evinces the genuineness of 
the Mosaic account, which narrates the follies and vices, wisdom 
and virtues of its heroes and heroines with equal candor, and 
without attempt to exaggerate or conceal any of the attending 
circumstances. 

Language embraces Zoology and the names of its 245,000 liv- 
ing species of animals ; Botany and the names of its 100,000 
living species of plants ; Geology with its 95,000 fossil species 
of animals and 2,500 fossil species of plants; Mineralogy with 
its myriads of crystals, metals and minerals. Language includes 
not only the ordinary dictionary of 40,000 popular words, but 
the Classical Lexicon, the Dictionaries of Medicine, Jurispru- 
dence, Chemistry, Arts and Manufactures, Biography, and the 
Universal Gazetteer. The 4,000 Christian names, the Bible 



6 14 English Period, A.D. 1600- 187 8. 

names and the innumerable family names also belong to lan- 
guage. Even Allibone's " Critical Dictionary of English Litera- 
ture and British and American Authors " contains 46,000 articles, 
names, &c. Have we not compassed language ? Not yet. Look 
at yonder cathedral and churches with their lofty spires ; at those 
grand edifices, reared for parliaments, congresses, legislatures, 
courts, institutes, universities, faculties, colleges, theatres ; watch 
that post-office and the mails streaming to and from it ; glance 
at those newspaper palaces, issuing bulletins and extras; behold 
those wires, freighted with the tersest and choicest treasures of 
language, rapping out telegrams in yonder office ; see those 
structures, erected for casting type, printing, binding, publishing, 
and selling books. Forget not the eighty-four Bible societies and 
agencies that issued and distributed 110,000,000 Bibles and 
Testaments since 1804 — one and all were founded to diffuse and 
convey thought by and through language, either spoken, written, 
printed, or mapped. Should the God, who originated language 
on earth, strike mankind dumb to-day, to-morrow these architec- 
tural splendors would begin to fade, for language raised them ; 
language underlies them all. Now we can exclaim with Home 
Tooke : " Language is an art and a glorious one, whose influence 
extends over all others, and in which all science whatever must 
center." Hence, should not this most powerful of engines — lan- 
guage — be made as simple, easy, fluent, and perfect as possible ? 
Lift your eyes to that azured dome ! When you have learned 
that language gave names and lent speech to those comets, 
moons, planets, suns, stars, constellations and galaxies, you will 
be able to realize Jean Paul Richter's striking simile on language : 

,ffii&) biinft, bcr3tafd) nmrbe fid) (fo rote ba% fyradjtofe Xfyter, ba% in bcr 
aufteren SBelt, tote in etnem bimfeln, betaubenben 2BcUen=97leere fdjnrinmtt), 
ebenfalls in bcm.tjoflgejrirnten £>tmmel ber aufceren Slnfdjauung buntyf Der* 
tieren, menu er bn§ Dertoorrene Seudjten ntd)t burd) ©pradje in ©ternbitber 
abtfyeitte, nub fid) burd) biefe ba$ ©anje in £I)etfe fur ba% 33ehmj3t[em cmf= 
tofete." 

Fi'om this survey of language's vast domain, we conclude that 
the English Vocabulary should number, at least, one million of 
words to satisfy present science, art and literature. Lately the idea 
of a universal dictionary, including not only what is commonly 



Nineteenth Century, 615 

called language, but Biography, Gazetteer, Encyclopaedia, Myth- 
ology, and Lexicons of separate sciences, arts, manufactures, me- 
chanics and trades, has been gaining ground, thus embracing 
and covering the linguistic expanse just alluded to. Such a work 
would be a library in itself, and suffice for ordinary purposes of 
reference. No wonder, then, the German Universal Dictionary, 
now issuing by the Brothers Grimm, is to contain 500,000 words ! 
In Vol. II., p. 449, of Sharon Turner's " History of the Anglo- 
Saxons," we read this significant sentence: 

"Nouns and verbs are the parents of all the rest of language, and it can 
be proved that of these the nouns are the ancient and primitive block from 
which all other words have branched and vegetated." 

As we were curious to know, not only "the parents of all 
language, but also their children," we thus selected the different 
words from the fifty Tables of the English Period for our ultimate 
synopsis : 

1,096 different nouns. 
520 " verbs. 
445 " adjectives. 
107 " qualificative adverbs. 



2,169 different words of inherent meaning,* and 
113 different words without inherent meaning, or par tides. \ 

Home Tooke observes : 

" In English and in all languages there are only two sorts, of words, which 
are necessary for the communication of our thoughts. And they are : I. Noun ; 
2. Verb." Vol. I., p. 47. 

As we fully agree with the Sage of Purley, we exhibit not only 
the totals of the different nouns and verbs, but of the different 
adjectives, qualificative adverbs and particles, giving their re- 
spective origin in the following Tables : 

* By words of inherent meaning we understand words having physical rep- 
resentatives, that are realized by the senses, as : sun, man, red, slow, run, 
sit, slowly, &c, or words that have a metaphysical signification, like wisdom, 
good, think, wisely, &c. 

\ By words without inherent meaning, or particles, we understand words 
that have merely a relative sense, as : the, of, shall, and, alas, &c. 



6i6 English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 

WORDS OF INHERENT MEANING. 

Table, showing the origin of the different Nouns from the Fifty 
Tables of the English Period, A.D. 1600-18 78 : 



Greek : 


sr 




Latin : 


116 




French : 
Spanish : 


686 

4 


■817 different Greco-Latin 1 


Italian : 


1 




Portuguese : 


«J 




Anglo-Saxon . 


237^] 




Danish : 


9 




German : 


8 




Dutch : 
Flemish : 


4 



■261 different Gotho-Germi 


Swedish : 


2 




Gothic : 


1 




Icelandic : 


0^ 




Welsh or Cymric : 


8^ 




Armoric \ 
Irish : 


4 

3 


j 

- 17 different Celtic nouns. 


Scotch : 


1 


i 


Cornish : 


iJ 


1 


Russian : 


1 


1 Sclavonic noun. 


Hebrew : 


1 

] 


1 Semitic noun. 
[,096 different nouns. 



This shows that our Fifty Tables count : 

75— percent, different Greco-Latin nouns, including sixty-three 

per cent. French nouns. 
23 — " " Gotho-Germanic nouns, including twenty- 

two per cent. Anglo-Saxon. 
2 — " " Celtic nouns, and 

Traces of Sclavonic and Semitic. 

Hence, the English language contains now over three Greco- 
Latin nouns to one Gotho-Germanic or Anglo-Saxon. 



Nineteenth Century. 



617 



WORDS OF INHERENT MEANING. 

Table, showing the origin of the different Verbs from the Fifty 
Tables of the English Period, A.D. 1600-18 78 : 

Greek: 1 ") 

Latin: 109 I 

French : 2 53 j. 364 different Greco- Latin verbs. 

Spanish : 

Italian : 

Portuguese : 

Anglo-Saxon : 

Danish : 

German: 

Dutch: 

Flemish : 

Swedish : 

Gothic : 

Icelandic : 



|- 142 different Go tho -Germanic verbs. 



Welsh or Cymric : 
Armoric : 
Irish : 
Scotch : 
Cornish: 

Russian : 
Hebrew : 



2 j- 13 different Celtic verbs. 

:j 

o [• o Sclavonic verbs. 

if- 1 Semitic verb, which is gaze. 

520 different verbs. 

This proves that our Fifty Tables contain : 
70— per cent, different Greco-Latin verbs, including forty- nine per 

cent. French verbs. 
27+ " " Gotho-Germanic verbs, including twenty- 

five per cent. Anglo-Saxon. 
2+ " " Celtic verbs, and traces of Semitic. 

Hence, the English language has now nearly three Greco- 
Latin verbs to one Gotho-Germanic or Anglo-Saxon. 

Sharon Turner has this pertinent remark on the importance 
of verbs : 

"They are like the secondary mountains of the Earth — they have been 
formed posterior to the ancient bulwarks of human speech, which are the 
nouns." 



6i8 English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 

WORDS OF INHERENT MEANING. 

Table, showing the origin of the different Adjectives from the 
Fifty Tables of the English Period, A.D. 160 0-1878: 



Greek : 
Latin : 
French : 
Spanish : 
Italian: 
Portuguese : 

Anglo-Saxon : 
Danish : 
German : 
Dutch : 
Flemish : 
Swedish : 
Gothic : 
Icelandic : 

Welsh or Cymric: 
Armoric : 
Irish : 
Scotch : 
Cornish : 



o 

Y 303 different Greco-Latin adjectives. 
2 I 

1 I 

oJ 



131] 
2 

1 



Y 137 different Gotho-Germanic adjectives. 

o 
o 

o 



4 different Celtic adjectives. 



Russian : 

Aramaic or Syriac : 



o Sclavonic adjectives. 



I [• 1 Semitic adjective. 
445 different adjectives. 



Thus our fifty Tables exibit : 

68 per cent, different Greco-Latin adjectives, including fifty-two 

per cent. French. 
31 " " Gotho Germanic adjectives, including 

twenty-nine per cent. Anglo-Saxon. 
1 " " Celtic adjective, and traces of Semitic. 

Hence, the English language counts now over two Greco- 
Latin adjectives to one Gotho-Germanic or Anglo-Saxon. 



Nineteenth Century. 

WORDS OF INHERENT MEANING. 



6l9 



Table, showing the origin of the different Qualiftcative Adverbs 
from the Fifty Tables of the English Period, A.D. 1600- 
1878: 



Greek : 


ol 






Latin : 


19 






French : 
Spanish : 
Italian : 


47 

: 


- 66 different Greco-Latin qualiftcative adverbs 


Portuguese : 


oJ 






Anglo-Saxon : 
Danish : 


40 "! 







German : 









Dutch : 

Flemish : 






. 40 


different Gotho-Germanic qualiftcative a 
verbs. 


Swedish : 









Gothic : 









Icelandic : 


°J 






Welsh or Cymric : 


O 






Armoric : 









Irish : 





I 


Celtic qualiftcative adverb. 


Scotch : 









Cornish : 


1 






Russian : 





\ ° 


Sclavonic qualiftcative adverbs. 


Hebrew : 





\ 


Semitic qualiftcative adverbs. 



107 different qualiftcative adverbs. 

This shows that our fifty Tables number : 

61 + per cent, different Greco-Latin qualiftcative adverbs, includ- 
ing forty-four per cent. P'rench. 
37 + " " Gotho-Germanic, all Anglo-Saxon. 

1 - " " Celtic. 



Therefore, the English language numbers now almost two Greco- 
Latin qualificative adverbs to one Gotho-Gennanic or Anglo- 
Saxon, 



620 English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 

WORDS WITHOUT INHERENT MEANING, OR PARTICLES. 

Table, showing the origin of the different Particles from the Fifty 
Tables of the English Period, A.D. 1600-18 78 : 



Greek: 
Latin : 
French : 
Spanish : 
Italian : 
Portuguese : 

Anglo- Saxon : 
Danish : 
German : 
Dutch : 
Flemish : 
Swedish : 
Gothic : 
Icelandic : 

Welsh or Cymric : 
Armoric : 
Irish : 
Scotch : 
Cornish : 

Russian : 
Hebrew : 



o 

2 

5 
o 
o 



7 different Greco-Latin particles, or words 
without inherent meaning. 



101 
o 

3 
o 
o 
o 
I 
I 



\ 106 different Gotho-Germanic particles. 



°1 

°l 

oj 



o Celtic particles. 

o Sclavonic particles. 

o Semitic particles. 
113 different particles. 



It is evident from the above figures that our fifty Tables 
contain 

6 per cent, different Greco-Latin particles. 
94 " " Gotho-Germanic, including 93 per cent. 

Anglo-Saxon. 

Hence, the English language contains sixteen Gotho- Germanic 
particles to one Greco-Latin, which clearly proves that languages 
do change their vocabulary as to words of inherent meaning, 
while they retain their original particles, or words without inher- 
ent meaning. 



Nineteenth Century. 



621 



It seems to us a few remarks on the occurrence of particles 
might be of interest here : The 9,554 words that constitute our 
fifty Extracts of the English Period, include 4,693 particles, 
among which 



The occurs 851 


times. 


that 




occurs 


10 1 times 


and 


" 416 


a 


be, 


aux. 


a 


164 " 


Pro. 1st person 


« 150 


'tt 


have, 


a 


a 


88 « 


" 2d " 


" 46 


tt 


shall, 


t( 


tt 


28 " 


" 3d " 


" 353 


a 


will, 


a 


a 


27 " 



Hence, our best English writings average about 



9+ per cent. 


the, 


4* u 


and, 


1^- " pronouns 


of 1st person. 


a small fraction " 


2d " 


2§ per cent. " 


3d 


i* " 


be, aux. 


1- " 


have, " 


a small fraction per cent. 


shall, " 


it tt tt 


will, " 


1 + 


that " 



We expected to find less the, more and, that, and auxiliaries. 
We are not surprised at the small number of pronouns of the 
first and second persons, and the large number of pronouns of the 
third ; because the former belong more to conversation and ora- 
tory, while the latter belong to history and description ; hence, 
pronouns of the first and second person are usually oral, whereas 
those of the third are in writing and print. 

The percentages of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and qualificative 
adverbs conclusively prove, that more than two-thirds of the words 
of inherent meaning in the English language are Greco-Latin, and 
less than one-third Gotho-Germanic ; whereas nine-tenths of the 
words without inherent meaning, or particles, are Gotho-Ger- 
manic, and only one-tenth Greco-Latin. This clearly shows, that 
English greatly changed and increased its vocabulary as to words 
of inherent meaning, while it retained its original Anglo-Saxon 
particles. 



622 English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 

We can neither assent to Sharon Turner's exclusive eulogy on 
nouns and verbs, nor to Marsh's calling "Particles, Pronoims, and 
Auxiliaries the mere wheel-works of syntactical movement" for we 
consider many particles, especially pronouns, auxiliaries, adverbs, 
of place and time ; prepositions, interjections, as highly important 
words, taking, as they do, not only the place of nouns, but of 
two, three, four words, and even of a whole sentence. Pronouns 
save the repetition of the names of persons speaking, spoken to, 
and of persons and things spoken of: the man, woman, or child, 
who utters the monosyllables /, we, my / thou, you, your ; he, 
she, it, they, &c, asserts individuality, which involves existence, 
life, &c. Here, there, where; now, then ; alas, &c, are truly 
epitomic terms : here standing for in this place ; there for in that 
place ; where for in what place ; now for at the present time ; 
then for at some time either past or future ; alas I for a whole sen- 
tence. Any one who overlooks such linguistic gems makes a 
sad mistake ; for they constitute the Laconism and essence of re- 
fined speech and language. Any dialect that has them, cannot 
be called a jargon, because such words involve thought, calcula- 
tion, analysis, and synthesis. 

The delicate shades of linguistic relation, indicated by the 
short invariable prepositions, of, to, with, from, &c, marking 
possession, addition, separation, &c, could not be expressed un- 
less by cumbersome terminations like Greek ov, rjs, iov, at?, 01?, or 
Latin ae, i, is, orum, arum, abus, ibus, obus, &c, that vary ac- 
cording to gender, number, and declension. So with the terse 
English auxiliaries : be, have, shall, will, may, &c. They truly 
are auxiliaries and help-meets ; for they obviate the complicated 
affixes and suffixes we find in Greek, Latin, Anglo-Saxon, French, 
German, and other languages. 

No doubt the Anglo-Saxon dialect has undergone much change 
since Edward the Confessor, A.D. 1042 ; but these precious 
monosyllables have survived, and should therefore be counted 
among the " ancient, bulwarks " of the English language ; as Home 
Tooke so justly observes: "They are the wheels of language, 
the wings of Mercury." Let us add : they are worthy of the 
telegraph. We look upon a refined, choice, and progressed lan- 
guage, as we would upon a stately architectural structure : nouns 
are its foundation-stones; verbs, its bricks; adjectives, its orna- 



Nineteenth Century. 623 

ments j qualificative adverbs, its roof; while particles are its 
cement and mortar. 

Now our analysis of the fifty English Extracts and Tables of 
the English Period, A.D. 1600-18 78, may be epitomized thus : 
About one-half of the words in the fifty Extracts, numbering 
9,554 words, are repetitions ; again, over one-half of the words in 
the fifty Tables, counting 5,000 words, are repetitions, leaving but 
2,282 ultimate different words, which shows that the tersest and 
choicest productions of English literature contain only about one- 
quarter of ultimate different words, the other three-quarters 
being repetitions, which are mostly particles. Such is language 
now, not only English, but all language. Will it, can it, remain 
so with the telegraph, telephone, phonograph, and amid the exact 
sciences, arts, and mechanics ? 

While searching the origin of the vocabulary, used by the fifty 
authors of the English Period, we perceived that some uncon- 
sciously employed more or less Anglo-Saxon or Greco-Latin 
words, according to the nature of their subjects, while, if emo- 
tional or domestic, the vocabulary would number more Gotho- 
Germanic than Greco-Latin terms ;* if historic, legal, or scien- 
tific, the vocabulary would contain more Greco-Latin than Gotho- 
Germanic vocables. To show this linguistic phenomenon more 
fully, we give these comparative Extracts and Tables from Byron's 
"Occasional Prologue," Longfellow's criticism on Anglo-Saxon 
poetry, Bryant's " Thanatopsis," and Popular History of the 
United States, and from Queen Victoria's "Journal of our Life 
in the Highlands:" 



Wordsworth's "Despondency" is the only exception we found to this 
rule : in it the bard uses forty-nine per cent. Greco- Latin, forty-nine Gotho- 
Germanic, and two per cent. Celtic. 



624 English Period, A.D. 1 600-1 878. 

Extract from "An Occasional Prologue" by Byron: 

** To-night you throng to witness the debut 
Of embryo actors, to the Drama new : 
Here then our almost unfledged wings we try ; 
Clip not our pinions ere the birds can fly : 
Failing in this our first attempt to soar, 
Drooping, alas ! we fall to rise no more. 
Not our poor trembler only fear betrays, 
Who hopes yet almost dreads, to meet your praise ; 
But all our Dramatis personae wait 
In fond suspense this crisis of our fate. 
No venal views our progress can retard ; 
Your generous plaudits are our sole reward ; 
For these, each Hero all his power displays ; 
Each timid Heroine shrinks before your gaze. 
Surely, the last will some protection find ; 
Whilst youth and beauty form the female shield, 
The sternest Censor to the fair must yield ; 
Yet should our feeble efforts naught avail," &c. 

138 common words, among which 



The 


occurs 


6 times. 


a 







<( 


of 




2 


« 


to 




6 


(C 


from 







it 


in 




2 


it 


with 




2 


tt 


by 







tt 


Pro. 1st person 




11 


(C 


" 2d " 




4 


u 


u 3d «« 




1 


tt 


be, aux. 




1 


u 


have, " 







u 


shall, " 




1 


It 


will, " 




1 


tt 


may, " 







ft 


do " 







a 


that 







tt 


and * 




1 


u 




other particles, 


38 
24 








62 


particles. 



Hence, Byron's unemotional style requires 138 common words to furnish 
100 different words, and averages about forty-five per cent, particles and 
twenty-seven per cent, repetitions. 



* This is the only Extract among our ninety Extracts and Tables, in which 
and occurs but once in 138 common words, which is less than one per cent. 
Surely Byron is one of the tersest English authors. 



Nineteenth Century. 



625 






o < 



>- a u (- u »k (j.-. 1^ « 



.s s 

OOUW 



x 3 e 
3 rt ^ 






^S u 3 «_ to -5 



s.i 



IS- 

OS c 






LB s 



^ 



1 


female 
feeble 

efforts 
avail 


CO 




debut 

pinions 

failing 

soar 

alas 

poor 

trembler, n. 

betrays 

suspense 

venal 

views, n. 

progress 

retard, v. 

generous 

reward, n. 

hero 

power 

display, v, 

timid 

heroine 

surely 

protection 

beauty 

form, v. 




actors 
personae 
crisis 
fate 
plaudits 
sole, adj. 
Censor 


tN 




g-3 


« 







^ 



626 English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 

Extract from Longfellow's u Poets and Poetry of Europe" p. 3. 

"The first thing, which strikes the reader of Anglo-Saxon poetry, is the 
structure of the verse ; the short exclamatory lines, whose rhythm depends on 
alliteration in the emphatic syllables, and to which the general omission of the 
particles gives great energy and vivacity. Though alliteration predominates 
in all Anglo-Saxon poetry, rhyme is not wholly wanting. It had line rhymes 
and final rhymes, which, being added to the alliteration and brought so near 
together in the short emphatic lines, produce a singular effect upon the ear. 
They ring like blows of hammers on an anvil. For example : 

" Other peculiarities of Anglo-Saxon poetry, which cannot escape the 
reader's attention, are its frequent inversions, its bold transitions, and abundant 
metaphors. These are the things which render Anglo-Saxon poetry so much 
more difficult than Anglo Saxon prose. But upon these points I need not 
enlarge. It is enough to have thus alluded to them. 

" One of the oldest and most important remains of Anglo-Saxon literature 
is the epic poem of " 'Beowulf. ," Its age is unknown ; but it comes from a 
very distant and hoar antiquity ; somewhere between the seventh and tenth 
centuries." 

174 common words, among which 



The 






occurs 


14 1 


:imes. 


a 






it 


3 


tt 


of 






tt 


8 


(< 


to 






(i 


4 


a 


from 






tt 


1 


(< 


in 






" 


3 


tt 


with 






u 





tt 


by 






tt 





tt 


Pronoun of 1st 


per. 


tc 


1. 


it 


c( 


2d 


tt 


a 





tt 


(i 


3d 


ft 


(« 


8 


tt 


be, aux. 






tt 


3 


tt 


have, " 






tt 


2 


tc 


shall, " 






<( 





tt 


will, " 






it 





<l 


may, " 






t< 





It 


do, " 






« 





(t 


that 






tt 





tt 


and 






tt 


6 

S3 


tt 






other particles, 


29 





82 particles. 

Hence, Longfellow's prose style requires 174 common words to furnish 100 
different words, and averages about forty -seven per cent, particles and forty- 
three per cent, repetitions. 



Nineteenth Century. 



627 



& 

^ 
a 

^ 






5 



i 



^ 






■? s 

o < 

< y 



II 



■Eg 
§1 



assess 

Onlfe<00 



ft 

10 m 



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60 t/1 U Ul %, 5i 
3 3 c« 2 a 5 



^ ? > J3 O C 



• ."iff 

8. 3 £3 5" 



o g rt 
2§ 



,»8 



"3 M-S 



,063 
'"wis ° 



' 3 **•!- H O " 



M uix; 



c £ eiS o £ S-o £>« ? 
<u ft- H s o< u u q, _3 *■ 

1,0 5 p2 ^3 



H :n e 5 n -T?m fcflT! 



'IB 8 






o o 

'3J3 
ft 



." u « 3 « f c i s 



.a fig 



B«n-2 






33 "o-o c - a 3 

.S - _3 <* "O O 3 J ^ 



0-5 -u rt c 

1) <1 u 



si 



■& 



fc '£ 






^ 



3 
•3 


1) 

H 8 






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Pi 


J; O 




^.a 


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<2 rt 


£« 


WO 


s|^ 








y^3 


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U 3 












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-o 


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^£ 


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Ph 'S 


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^* 









rt O 




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5 




Pi -G 


u 


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ft 




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£ 3^3 

v £_ri 

^ B~5 

III 

8 « </i 

rii 

on" 
H°-S 

P-i'o i> 

Ul (J 

3 . 

O V o 

« a e 
>J « 

0^0 

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C rt S 

Irt- 



4J^ l. 



if 



628 English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 

Extract from William C. Bryants "Thanatopsis" (Death Sight). 

" To him, who, in the love of Nature, holds 
Communion with her visible forms, she speaks 
A various language : for his gayer hours 
She has a voice of gladness, and a smile 
And eloquence of beauty, and she glides 
Into his darker musings, with a mild 
And healing sympathy, that steals away 
Their sharpness ere he is aware. When thoughts 
Of the last bitter hour come like a blight 
Over {hy spirit, and sad images 
Of the stern agony, and shroud, and pall, 
And breathless darkness, and the narrow house 
Make thee to shudder, and grow sick at heart, 
Go forth under the open sky and list 
To Nature's teachings, while from all around — 
Earth and her waters, and the depths of air — 
Comes a still voice. Yet a few days, and thee 
The all-beholding sun shall see no more 
In all his course ; nor yet in the cold ground, 
Where thy pale form was laid with many tears," &c. 
161 common words, among which 

The occurs q times. 

a 

of 

to 

in 

from 

with 

by 

Pro. of 1 st person 

t; 2d " 

« 3( j u 

be, aux. 

have, " 

shall, " 

will, " 

may, " 

do, " 
that 
and 



78 particles. 
Hence, Bryant's poetic style requires about 161 common words to furnish 
100 different words, and averages about forty-eight per cent, particles, and 
thirty-seven per cent, repetitions. 



occurs 


9 


t< 


6 


ft 


6 


u 


3 


« 


3 


u 


1 


(( 


3 


tt 





a 





" 


4 


tt 


11 


c< 


1 


tt 





(c 


1 


(< 





tt 





tt 





a 


1 


u 


13 




62 


other particles, 


16 



Nineteenth Century. 



629 



I 






§ 1 











5 

1 

u 

p 
g 

H 
</5 




RESULT : 

Greek : 2 
Latin : 3 
French : 17 
Anglo-Saxon : 76 
German : 1 
Welsh : 1 

100 

22 per cent. Greco-Latin. 
77 " Gotho-Germanic. 
1 " Celtic. 




w 

< 

D 
O 

< 
►J 

O 

W 
fc 

>< 
H 

O 

E 

Ph 

«i 

»— 1 



3 

<! 


h ft. 

la 

81 






u 

H 

§ 1 

ft] < 

s <* 





1 




" 


I* 


2 
s 

i 

y 
z 
< 

s 

K 

w 

9 
6 

X 
H 
O 

O 

6 

K 
H 
>• 
u 
w 


3 


> 

u 
•a 
■a 

3 


" 


bi 

'5 

nl 
E 

c 


1 

i 


few 

days 

all 

beholding 

sun 

shall, aux. 

see 

no 

more 

nor 

cold 

ground, n. 

where 

laid 

many 

tears, n. 




-Germanic words: 

77 
aving but 51 words of inher 


house 
make 
grow 
sick 
at 
heart 

go 

forth 

under 

open, adj. 

list, v. 

teachings 

while 

from 

around 

Earth 

waters, n. 

depths 

still, adj. 

yet 


that 

steals 

away 

sharpness 

ere 

is 

aware 

when 

thoughts 

last, adj 

bitter 

come 

like 

blight 

ovei 

thy 

stern 

shroud, n. 

breathless 

narrow 


^ 1 
a, 

V 


to 

him 

who 

in 

the 

love, n. 

of 

holds 

with 

speaks 

a 

for 

has 

gladness 

and 

smile, n. 

glides 

darker 

mild 

healing 





z 

H 
< 

6 
u 

a 

X 



K ' ' 

> 

y a 

< 
(A ft. 
< 
J 
a 

6 

< 

gs 


5 
v 

^ 


Nature 

communion 

visible 

forms, n. 

language 

gayer 

hours 

voice 

eloquence 

beauty 

musings 

sympathy 

images 

agony 

air 
course 
pale 


fN 






in 

> 


f*> 


« 8*5 

1 


<* 


O. 

i 

a " 


►. 


( 


4 







'Us 



4) <U 
C V 
O 3 



"1"S 






So 

6 o 






j?o 



4) = 
QIO 



C 3 

■V . 

a." 
w.2 



630 English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 

Extract from William C. Bryanfs "Popnl&r History of the 
United States y Preface, p. xxii. 

" The history of the United States naturally divides itself into three periods, 
upon the third of which we lately, at the close of our civil war, entered as a 
people, with congruous institutions in every part of our vast territory. The 
first was the colonial period ; the second includes the years which elapsed from 
the Declaration of Independence to the struggle which closed with the extinc- 
tion of slavery. The colonial period was a time of tutelage, of struggle and 
dependence, the childhood of the future nation. But our real growth, as a 
distinct member of the community of nations, belongs to the second period, 
and began when we were strong enough to assert and maintain our indepen- 
dence. To this second period a large space has been allotted in the present 
work. Not that the military annals of our Revolutionary War would seem 
to require a large proportion of this space, but the various attendant circum- 
stances, the previous controversies with the mother country, in which all the 
colonies were more or less interested, and grew into a common cause ; the 
consultations which followed; the defiance," &c. 



185 common words, among which 



The 



occurs 


22 


times. 


u 


6 


u 


a 


12 


" 


(< 


7 


u 


u 


4 


u 


u 


1 


u 


u 


3 


IC 


u 





It 


(( 


7 


u 


<< 





(( 


t( 


1 


a 


u 


2 


u 


(( 


1 


u 


u 





c< 


(4 


1 


u 


it 





t( 


u 





a 


u 


1 


a 


u 


4 

72 


a 


ther particles, 


19 





of 

to 

from 

in 

with 

l y 

Pronoun, 1st person 
" 2d " 
" 3d " 

be, aux. 

have, " 

shall, " 

will, " 

may, " 

do 

that 

and 



91 particles. 

Hence, William C. Bryant's prose style requires about 185 common words 
to furnish 100 different words, and averages about forty-six per cent, repetitions 
and forty-nine per cent, particles. 



Nineteenth Century. 



63 





1 


i» 


* 


Sw 






6 H 


2 


to 


S^ 


h 


•> 


<r-i 








10 








5 




rtl 


*i 




■? s 


^ 




< 






H U. 


^ 
^ 




















u 


5 




s« 


| 

ft 




3$ 

5 


J, 









•o 






« 




5 


<- 






b 




5 


oq 


W 




G 





z 

< 


-^ 


< 


s 




O 


K 

w 

? 

c 


s 


5 


X 


V 


O 




6 

X 


V. 




h 




W 




-^ 

a 


> 
H 


to 




w, 


O 




s 


H 




■v 


W 




~ 


W 




%] 


Ph 




*, 


< 
•— > 


& 




O 


g 


g 


<: 


2 












h 


s 




<< 


! 




O 








S 







-v» 




K 


J{ 




O 


s 




(J 


i 




<: 


« 




ti 


8 




a. 

6 






•-> 


V 




< 

K 

X 


£ 




H 








~r. 












K 






O 







JO 
6 o 






ja^cog pig 3 W 



; s 



^ 






»* 



§'5 

E 2 



vszuz a-s-sS'gsSsi'gis^a 



^stJilllgS&i! 






[•a| 

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isfiiiirseil 

gill Nil 1 111 



•5 -1 I 

M o "- V 

£ So 



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ro 



632 



English Period, A.D. 1 600- 1878. 



Extract from Her Majesty, Queen Victoria's "Leaves from the 
Journal of our Life in the Highlands," p. 273. 

" During our voyage I was able to give Vicky her lessons. At three 
o'clock we all got into the barge, including the children and Mademoiselle 
Gruner, their governess, and rowed through an avenue of boats of all descrip- 
tions to the ' Fairy, ' where we went on board. The getting in and out of 
the barge was no easy task. There was a good deal of swell, and the Fairy 
herself rolled amazingly. We steamed round the bay to look at St. Michael's 
Mount from the other side, which is even more beautiful, and then went on to 
Penzance. Albert landed near Penzance with all the gentlemen, except Lord 
Spencer (who is most agreeable, efficient and useful at sea, being a captain in 
the navy), and Colonel Grey. They went to see the smelting of copper and 
tin, and the works in serpentine stone at Penzance. We remained here a 
little while without going on, in order to sketch, and returned to the ' Victo- 
ria and Albert,' by half- past four, the boats crowding around us in all direc- 
tions; and when Bertie showed himself the people shouted ' Three cheers for 
the Duke of Cornwall ! ' Albert returned a little before seven, much gratified 
by what he had seen y and bringing home specimens of the serpentine stone." 

196 common words, among which 



a 

of 
to 




<< 
«c 
u 


from 




u 


in 

with 

by 




u 
it 

u 


Pronoun, 


1st person 


u 


M 


2d " 


«< 


u 


3d « 


tt 


be, aux. 




(( 


have, " 




tt 


shaU, " 




tt 


will, " 




It 


may, " 




tt 


do, " 




u 


that 




tt 


and 




it 



other particles, 



17 times. 
5 
7 
7 
1 

4 
1 
2 

5 
o 

5 
o 
1 
o 
o 
o 
o 
o 

13 

68 
26 

94 particles. 



Hence, Queen Victoria's style requires about 196 common words to furnish 
100 different words, and averages about forty-eight per cent, particles and forty- 
eight per cent, repetitions. 



Nineteenth Century. 



633 



"a 



ft 



0> 



l? . <« 

1 S Ml 

£ .^ ° 

£ Si I 

^ « c 

^ •*» rt 

"si ,<b co 



^0 



s 



: ^ 



* 






hH •• 


g 


























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< 


.Jo 






k 

§ 


C/3> 


fa. 


►a 








°r; 


u 


e 


1 


M 


.^ M 


5 s 


H 

S 
U 
to 


^ 






l 
-O 














an 




■JO j 








H " io'3 






I s 




do 4) 5 a 






p < 




co x >- 9 <u 






2 u 




§ ^g.."" COc/3 






2 5 

< 










CO > 












a. 




u 






H 




vo m h 






j •« 




covo 






a >. 










V J 










3 

§1 










s b 
































» 








u > 






bO 




^> 






« 


>, 




s 


bflrt B.-C 




1 


.s 








> 


k 

s 

u 


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8 


t &u 




1 


10 






a 

P 




< 

fa. 

y 

Z 
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£ W « CO J$£ 


10 


S rojg S 

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co to •"■ £ 


w 


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(O 












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3 


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634 English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 

The change of vocabulary in our previous Extracts and Tables 
from the same authors is curious : Byron's Prologue shows fifty- 
seven per cent. Gotho-Germanic, thirty-seven Greco-Latin, five 
Celtic, and one per cent. Semitic ; whereas, the emotional " Lines 
beneath an Elm," contain but twenty-three per cent. Greco-Latin, 
seventy-six Gotho-Germanic, and one per cent. Celtic. In the 
former the bard swells into the scholar, critic, artist, and man of 
the world ; in the latter, he shrinks into the sad youth, and 
becomes the primitive Anglo-Saxon under Egbert, A.D. 800. 
You may sympathize with him in the childlike attitude beneath 
the Elm at Harrow ; but if he had remained there, the world would 
miss the graphic descriptions and the life-like characters that 
charmed readers and called forth Finden's beautiful illustrations, 
which adorn our center-tables. We might wish Byron had 
realized his " Lines written beneath the Elm in the Churchyard 
of Harrow," rather than become the fevered, impulsive, and 
passionate "Childe Harold," who died a martyr to Greece's 
emancipation from Turkish tyranny, at Missolonghi, 1824. As 
well might we wish to see England as she was under Edward the 
Confessor ; but then would her sails have whitened the ocean ? 
Would her flag float over the five parts of the world ? Would the 
sun daily shine twenty-four hours on her vast dominions ? Expe- 
rience, advance, progress, good, bad, or indifferent, are the 
destiny of individuals, tribes, nations, and races, as shown 
throughout history. 

Our Extract and Table from William C. Bryant's "Thanatopsis " 
(Death Sight), shows but twenty-two per cent. Greco-Latin, and 
seventy-seven per cent. Gotho-Germanic. This is the lowest 
Greco-Latin percentage of the numerous authors and writings we 
analyzed in the English language, except the Bible and Fitz- 
Green Halleck's poetry, which also have twenty-two per cent. 
Greco-Latin. Hence, " Thanatopsis," the Scriptures, and Fitz- 
Green Halleck may be considered parallels as to Greco-Latin : 
next come Byron and Longfellow, whose emotional poems show 
twenty-three and twenty-four per cent. Greco-Latin, while their 
other writings exhibit forty-seven and forty-eight per cent. Greco- 
Latin ; then follow Tennyson with twenty-seven per cent. Greco- 
Latin ; Shakespeare, thirty-three ; Mrs. Hemans, thirty-four ; 
Milton and Pope, thirty-six; Scott with forty per cent. Greco- 



Nineteenth Century. 635 

Latin, &c. Yet our Extract and Table from the preface to 
Bryant's "Popular History of the United States," exhibits fifty- 
seven per cent. Greco-Latin, and forty-two per cent. Gotho- 
Germanic ; thence it appears that, while the New York bard was 
rhyming his " Thanatopsis," he was the emotional moralist, and 
his soul overflowed with primitive Anglo-Saxon expressions ; 
whereas, while penning the preface to the history of his beloved 
country, the impulsive Greco-Latin muse carried him to Greece 
and Rome, where a streamlet of progressed Greco-Latin terms 
flowed into his mind to picture statesmanlike ideas. Could he 
have written that philosophic and scholarly preface in the limited 
Anglo-Saxon vocabulary ? Her Majesty's Address to Parliament, 
closing our fifty Extracts and Tables of the English Period, shows 
fifty-seven per cent. Greco-Latin, forty-one Gotho-Germanic, and 
two per cent. Celtic. In this state paper she unconsciously paid 
a linguistic compliment to the Franco-Norman, Gotho-Germanic, 
and Celtic elements of the English-speaking populations, by 
using words from their respective vocabularies. 

We add here, as a point of comparison, an Extract and Table 
from Queen Victoria's "Journal of our Life in the Highlands," 
which has but thirty-six per cen-t. Greco-Latin, sixty-three Gotho- 
Germanic, and one per cent. Semitic. When her Majesty 
penned the word "amazing" she became orientalist, and as 
such unconsciously paid a delicate linguistic compliment to the 
Jewish and oriental element of her subjects. We expected this 
vocabular difference between the Address to Parliament, and 
"Journal of our Life in the Highlands; " for the former, being 
diplomatic, required Greco-Latin ; while the latter, being do- 
mestic, needed Gotho-Germanic. To say I read this touching 
effusion with interest, would be stating the least of my emotions ; 
but to say I perused it with a deep gratitude to her Gracious 
Majesty for the encouraging literary example she left to her sex, 
approaches the impression it left on my mind. The Queen of Eng- 
land rejoicing to be able to give her darling daughter her lessons 
during a voyage ! No wonder the old world styled this queenly 
production "A unique book in literary History" — Round Table ; 
while the New World hailed it thus : " It were well that it should 
enter into every household in England and America, as an example 
cf goodness and stainless honor." — New York Home Journal. 



636 English Period \ A.D. 1 600-1 

The change of vocabulary, as shown from Byron's, Longfellow's, 
Bryant's, and Queen Victoria's writings, proves that different 
themes and styles of composition require words and phraseologies 
from different types and families of languages. This is a singular 
feature, which is peculiar to a "composite language" like the 
English, in which the bard may readily find any appropriate voca- 
bulary for poetizing ; the orator, for haranguing ; the statesman, 
for legislating ; the preacher, for exhorting ; a language in which 
the gay can " Rejoice with them that do rejoice" and the sad 
" Weep with them that weep." 

ODE TO LANGUAGE. 

" All nature speaks lo us in varied tone, 
From the wild carol of the morning lark 

To evening's drowsy moan. 
Go listen to the voices of the storm — 
The crashing of the woods — the ocean's roar, 

When winds its face deform. 

Is IT not speech ? — when terror rides the gale, 
And calls to us to hurry from its course, 

With a forewarning wail? 
We hear it long before the storm appears, 
In far-off sobbings of the low south wind, 

That sighing wakes our fears. 

Then signal splashes of big drops of rain ; 
Even the hush and stillness has a voice, 

Boding the deep refrain. 
In finest forms, that orator e'er used, 
He does but copy sounds heard long before, 

And with his thought infused : 

First, with a voice subdued, attention's caught 
To go along with him, and note his course — 

The current of his thought ; 
Then with a swelling force his periods flow — 
A storm of words — the lightning flash of wit — 

And bolts that strike and glow. 

Nature the teacher, an apt scholar, man 
Gathers the sounds significant and fit, 

And gives them shape and plan, 
Forming a language, that essential need 
For mental growth, a vehicle through which 

The intellect to feed ; 

To send the winged thought from mind to mind 
In speech, where teeming brains, conversing free, 

Advanced ideas find. 
Its language is the touchstone of a race : 
, Be it refined or coarse, in all its shades 

The Nations type we trace. 



Nineteenth Century. 63J 

We now might doubt the Greek or Latin power, 
Were not their language left ; but there embalmed 

It stands to this late hour. 
We should not call those ancient idioms dead ; 
Diffused they are, but they live on in tongues, 

Through which their words are spread. 



Among rude nations no such terms we find, 
Thought and refinetnent only reach for them ; 

They serve the polished mind. 
So, where those graphic words have made their home, 
A state advanced — a cultured race they mark, 

Like those of Greece or Rome. 



In classic times language could paint the thought, 
And as it left the lips the subject glowed. 

A picture finely wrought. 
Words dropt like coinage from beneath the die, 
Stampt with intrinsic worth, and no base mint 

Could highest needs supply. 



The fairest offspring of linguistic lore, 
Now in ascendant, is the English tongue, 

Spreading the wide world o'er : 
A full clear stream from many fountains fed, 
All languages in one that's culled from all — 

The living and the dead. 

Jane Lee Weisse. 

" 'Where the mere historian may take little notice and hasten, the philolo- 
gist must linger and watch the monotonous tide of language, which is but 
the social under tow, bearing on its surface dynasties, statesmen, divines, and 
soldiers, who are only bubbles, that vanish, while that irresistible itnder-tow, 
language, progresses." — Anonymous. 

Here and now we find ourselves in this category : we cannot 
hasten ; we must linger to draw the conclusions of new linguistic 
phases from the incontestable numeric results of fourteen con- 
secutive, centuries, A.D. 449-1878. 

While tracing the vocabulary in the fifty Extracts and Tables 
of the English Period, A.D. 1600-18 78, we perceived linguistic 
phenomena we can only explain by giving the following synopsis 
of their numeric results, which will enable us to show at a glance, 
not only the origin of their vocabulary, but the character of their 
style, as compared with other writers of the English Period, A.D. 
1600-1878. 



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640 English Period, A.D. 1 600-1878. 

This synopsis shows at a glance : 

1. That the vocabulary in the Fifty Tables from 
the most varied literary productions of the English 
Period, A.D. 1 600-1 878, contains 

from 22 to 64 per cent. Greco-Latin ; 
" 35 " 78 " Gotho-Germanic or An- 

glo-Saxon ; 
1 " 5 " Celtic, and 

Traces of Sclavonic and Semitic. 

2. That to obtain Fifty Tables of 100 different 
words each it required Fifty Extracts, numbering 
from 135 to 531 common words, including 

" 26 to 8 1 per cent, repetitions ; 

39 " 61 " words without inherent 
meaning, or particles, and 

" 68 " 82 " words of inherent meaning. 
Among the fifty authors and writings, Milton's 
style has least (twenty-six per cent.) repetitions ; 
whereas the Bible's has most (eighty-one per cent.) 
repetitions. Bishop Berkeley's style shows least 
(thirty-nine per cent.) particles ; whereas the style 
of the Bible shows most (sixty-one per cent.) par- 
ticles. Jonathan Edwards' style numbers least 
(sixty-eight per cent.) words of inherent meaning, 
whereas Berkeley's numbers most (eighty-two per 
cent.) words of inherent meaning. The previous 
synopsis applies more to the style than to the 
vocabulary of the authors of the English Period, 
A.D. 1600-1878. 

Hence, may not the hitherto hidden charm of Milton's, Shake- 
speare's, Pope's, Hume's, Berkeley's, Irving's, Mrs. Hemans' and 
Cooper's style be due to their having least repetitions and par- 
ticles and most words of inherent meaning ? for we ail consciously 
or unconsciously like conciseness and dislike verbiage. 



Nin eteen tJi Cen tn ry . 64 1 

But the most striking feature, elicited by this synopsis and by 
our previous ultimate result, is, that the Fifty Extracts, number- 
ing 9,554 common words, contain but 2,282 (or twenty-four per 
cent.) ultimate different words, leaving 7,272 (seventy-six per 
cent.) repetitions. The 9,554 common words of the Fifty Ex- 
tracts include also 4,693 (forty-nine per cent.) words without in- 
herent meaning, or particles. Think of English, the tersest, most 
elastic and most direct of the leading languages, having in its 
best literary productions only twenty-four per cent, ultimate dif- 
ferent words, seventy-six per cent, repetitions, and forty-nine per 
cent, particles, which makes one word in every four an ultimate 
different word, three words in every four repetitions, and one 
word in every two an insignificant particle. As previously stated, 
if English is such, what shall be said of other leading languages, 
more complicated in grammar and less direct in construction ? 
Are languages, so constituted, consistent with the telegraph, 
cable, telephone, phonograph, and with the exact sciences, arts, 
and mechanics? Is it not time to consider this unscientific 
status of language and devise an educational system, calculated 
to simplify language and correct this undreamt of prolixity ? The 
ninety English-speaking millions, scattered over the globe, have 
the deepest interest in this problem ; for the nation that solves it, 
will confer the greatest and most lasting benefit on mankind. 

In our synopsis of Extracts and Tables the drama and pulpit 
exhibit low percentages of Greco-Latin and high percentages of 
Gotho-Germanic or Anglo-Saxon ; whereas the school-room, 
press, history, and forum show high percentages of Greco-Latin 
and low percentages of Gotho-Germanic or Anglo-Saxon. This 
seems to indicate a difference of vocabulary in the various styles 
of writing, and suggests the possibility of reaching average per- 
centages concerning the origin of the varied vocabularies in those 
styles. As the results of the Fifty Extracts and Tables would not 
suffice to furnish satisfactory average percentages for the nine 
different styles, we analyze other literary productions of the Eng- 
lish Period, A.U. 1600-18 78. and add about 150 more. Not to 
incumber our book with additional Extracts and Tables, we only 
give the numeric results, as seen in the following bird's-eye views, 
showing the origin of the vocabularies, used in the school-room, 
pulpit, press, forum, theatre, history, poetry, romance, and mis- 
cellaneous writings : 



64: 



English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 






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Nineteenth Century. 



649 



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Nineteenth Century. 



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t>. t^\o VO t-» I 



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Oh w 
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w 6 V 
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sunlit* 




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+ + I 

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<u # w 73 






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652 



English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 



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£,0 S « 



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31 



Nineteenth Century. 653 

As some literary friends are curious to know the age of English 
as compared with other ancient and modern languages, let us try. 
to satisfy their curiosity as cursorily as possible : 

In his archeologic works, Baron von Bun sen intimates, that it 
required ten thousand years to develop the Sanscrit language. 

History furnishes no criterion for a linguistic evolution of 10,- 
000 years, as may be noticed by the following languages : 

Hebrew (named after Heber or Eber, Gen. x. . 24), from Abraham, "the 
Hebrew" 1921 B.C., to the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, A.D. 
70, when it ceased to be a living language, had approximated an evolu- 
tion of _. 1991 years. 

Greek, from Inachus, founder of Argos, 1856 B.C., to the capture of Con- 
stantinople by the Turks, A.D. 1453, had an evolution of about 3309 years. 

Latin, from the founding of Rome by Romulus and Remus, 753 B.C., to the 
conquest of Italy by the Heruli under Odoacer, A.D. 476, was developed 
in about 1 229 years. 

German, from the irruption of the Teutones and Cimbri, no B.C., to A.D. 
1878, has been evolving about 1988 years. 

Spanish, from the invasion of the Vandals, Alani and Suevi, A.D. 410, to 
1878 1468 years. 

English, from the arrival of the Jutes, Saxons and Angles in Britain, A.D. 
449, to 1878 1429 years. 

French, from Merovee, founder of the Merovingian dynasty, A D. 458, to 
1878 1420 years. 

Italian, from the conquest of Italy by the Heruli under Odoacer, A.D. 476, to 
1878 1402 years. 

These eight most highly developed languages furnish an average 
evolution of 1780 years. In presence of these figures and their 
average, the 10,000 years of Sanscrit development must dwindle, 
unless it can be demonstrated that prehistoric linguistic evolution 
required six times as much time as historic, which seems an im- 
possibility at this remote period. We cannot help considering 
figures and dates for prehistoric probabilities out of place, until 
we acquire more circumstantial evidence, which may yet be found 
in ancient Asiatic ruins and records. Sanscrit scholars style the 
Hindu idiom the most perfect of languages ; so do students of 
Hebrew and Greek regard Hebrew and Greek as most perfect. 
Latin enthusiasts neglected their mother tongues and penned poor 
Latin throughout the Middle Ages. Germans only see linguistic 
perfection in the Fatherland's self sustaining language. Even the 
generous Schiller wrote against borrowing foreign words. French- 
men think there never was, nor will be, a language like theirs ; 
hence they neglected foreign tongues, till Jourdain found gems 
in Persian, Cousin in German, Tame in English, &c. The Eng- 
lish-speaking populations, who, with their elastic and grammati- 
cally simple language, have been selecting gems from most lan- 
guages, are but the wiser and richer for such eclecticism. 



654 



English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 



CO 
00 



u o 



000000000000000000000 noh m 



ONmnnONNM«-^-nhnOmhO'-iwh m00 



O Z c/5 

s < a 

o « o 

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■8 



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so 
by) 



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5£* 



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H N d b 



3 -"^ s b 



5 «a > 






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. . o e 



0.3 3 i5 <u. fail ;'?w-;^J3«u k ii°< > 2uH - -^^i r3>£ 



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Nineteenth Century. 655 

j-c o -2-5 53 .2 'S .2 $ T3 g •" ^3 



-S ^ 2 * dJ co^-$ :; -S rt s 3 a > 9 v § 

II 1 I o Sb §» 1B.1 . 1 B 8 ^ B -s 

P y u 2; £< s- .5 Co-^^cs 9 nj^*^^ 

i-fsif :-ii uiisi j nil 






^ — ' O •— >Z 5 n, >> u ,3 3 ^ O 



u 



.3 -3 « S £ fc jg 3 « 'g §P S .s --S -3 ^ ^ d 









.1=1 O U O S .5 >» .£ .ti JT rf d O ^ 4-> ^ 

g S w I -3 J S S s ? -f s V 8 « -^ J *a I ^ 1 g -a 

« 8 ■* ^ * o s § •£ jb * r vs £ a 1 1 6 -l .s I •* I 

-a . o 5 ^ t |T a 53 .sp« ^ '-S r ^ 8 8 § g * G _g .3 .9 •§, 

^Y^-O-S^O^-O^ r^ *- ^ O -S > 3 *~* ^ 



Ot: ^ t-" 1 5; •? ^ ^ ^ n W ^ ^ S ^ G -•" 

r i « S * 5 8 2 Ji .i 5 ^ 1 J &| -. « s Z s -g § .0 



- ^- rG V^ OO ~ « — -^ 

c oTjg m 3 '- -j .= c u j o - ,- c - V r "> ^ G 

O CT^ rt g\'fln , Crt-.« 3-5 ^^-T rf^- * V »a Jf ri 

p 00^_^ g O " CS Cm ^.S O^:^ w 6 ^S.^ 



I g c -| o S -I % -\l - § M | -B § J ^ 2.| § ,2 -g l 



^ T r-> r- T! 






1 J m r^ vu 

D U I- r 

u G a g 



656 



English Period, A.D. 1600-1878, 



Synopsis of the average origin of the Vocabulary of the Nine 
Styles of Writing. 







H 




u 


53 




2 
< 




|h 






< W 


Ph 


J 3 


O O 




6 & 


6 * 


O 


O W 


K w 




WPh 


HPi 


tf 


O 


W 


O 


O 


U 



Didactic or School-room Style. . 

Sacred or Pulpit 

Newspaper 

Politico-legal 

Dramatic 

Historic. . . 

Poetic 

Romantic 

Miscellaneous 



49 + 


49 + 


1 — 


43- 


57- 


traces 


52 + 


47- 


1 — 


50 + 


49- 


1 — 


35 + 


64- 


1 + 


53 + 


46- 


1 


3i + 


66 + 


2 — 


38 + 


61 


1 — 


46 + 


52 + 


1 + 



traces 
traces 

o 
traces 
traces 

o 
traces 
traces 
traces 



These percentages show, that historians, journal- 
ists, statesmen, and jurists use more Greco -Latin 
and less Gotho-Germanic or Anglo-Saxon than 
poets, dramatists, novelists, and miscellaneous 
writers. The pulpit, averaging forty three per 
cent. Greco Latin and fifty-seven per cent. Anglo- 
Saxon, is a happy medium between the press and 
the drama. Poetry averages least Greco-Latin 
and most Anglo-Saxon, because Greco-Latin words 
are usually polysyllabic, and therefore unsuited to 
measure and rhyme, whereas Anglo-Saxon words 
are mostly monosyllabic, and therefore more ame- 
nable to measure and rhyme. Words like responsi- 
bility, theology, reconciliation, &c, are unwieldy in 
metric language, where spondees and dactyls are 



Nineteenth Century. 657 

indispensable. Thus the press and history, with 
an average of fifty-two and fifty-three per cent. 
Greco- Latin and forty-seven and forty-six per cent. 
Gotho-Germanic or Anglo-Saxon, are antipodal to 
poetry, with an average of thirty-one per cent. 
Greco-Latin and sixty-six per cent. Gotho-Ger- 
manic or Anglo-Saxon. 

To realize the extremes of vocabulary in the nine 
different styles of writing, readers may compare 
our Extract from Robertson's " History of Amer- 
ica," numbering sixty-four per cent, different Greco- 
Latin, and only thirty-five per cent, different Gotho- 
Germanic or Anglo-Saxon words, with Fitz-Green 
Halleck's " Ode to Woman," counting but twenty- 
two per cent, different Greco-Latin and seventy- 
seven per cent, different Gotho-Germanic or Anglo- 
Saxon words ; they show how the English-speak- 
ing populations have succeeded in selecting, amal- 
gamating, shortening, and harmonizing words from 
heterogeneous types and families of dialects, and 
making a homogeneous whole, ultimating in the 
present telegraphic English language. 

Before we undertook this close numeric analysis, we had read 
books of all kinds, and formed opinions as to the style and vo- 
cabulary of authors. We knew that the Bible, prayer books, 
legal writings, didactic treatises and manuals abound in repeti- 
tions and particles, and that poetry had a primitive Gotho-Ger- 
manic vocabulary with comparatively few Greco-Latin terms. 
We were positive, that scientific works would show fewer repeti- 
tions, particles and an almost purely Greco-Latin vocabulary, 
and that historic, romantic, and journalistic styles would range 
between the sacred and scientific ; but the numeric results of 
our Fifty Extracts and Tables compel us to modify our precon- 
ceived notions concerning the style and vocabulary of English 



658 



English Period \ A.D. 1600- 187 8. 



literary productions. The following is one of the curious features, 
elicited by our strict analysis. 

To furnish a Table of 100 different words -f 



The Bible 








requires 531 


common words. 


Hardee's Tactics 








u 


258 


Bill of Rights 








u 


245 


Blackstone 








u 


235 


Constitution of the United States 


(( 


225 " 


Jonathan Edwards 








t( 


216 


Sharon Turner 








ft 


208 " 


Agassiz 








" 


203 « 


Whereas. : 












Milton 


requires 


but 


135 common words. 


Byron 




u 




144 






W. Irving 




u 




146 






Tennyson 




(« 




157 






Pope 




a 




158 






Hume 




it 




158 






Mrs. Hemans 




u 




159 






Cooper 




u 




160 






Robertson 




<( 




161 






Shakespeare 




" 




164 






New York Herald 


(( 




164 




•' 



Hence, the Bible requires most and Milton least common 
words to furnish a table of 100 different words. 

The following percentages of repeated words are about as we 
expected : 



Bible 




has 81 per 


cent, repeti 


Hardee's Tactics 




" 61 


cc u 


Bill of Rights 




" 59 


<< u 


Blackstone 




" 57 


(( It 


Constitution of the United States " 55 


(t it 


Jonathan Edwards 




" 54 


U ({ 


Sharon Turner 




« 52 


<« u 


Agassiz 




" 5i 


a tt 


ereas : 

Milton 


has but 26 per cent 


repetitions. 


Byron 


u 


3i " 




W. Irving 


it 


33 " 




Hume 


u 


36 




Tennyson 


<< 


36 « 




Mrs. Hemans 


(< 


37 " 





Nineteenth Century. 



659 



Cooper has but 38 per cent, repetitions. 

New York Herald " 39 " " 

New York Tribune " 41 '* " 

London Times " 45 " " 

Hence, Milton's " Paradise Lost " is the most, and the Bible 
the least concise of the fifty literary productions we examined. 
Another fact is, that the legal, didactic, and scientific styles seem 
to contain numerous repetitions, whereas Poetry, History, Drama, 
Romance, and Journalism contain less. 

We were sure the Bible would show a larger percentage of 
particles than any other book extant, containing 46,219 ands as 
stated in Hayden's " Dictionary of Dates and Universal Refer- 
ence." So with the "Bill of Rights " and the Constitution of 
the United States ; yet 



The Bible 


has 61 per cent. 


particles. 


Gibbon 


<< 


60 




<< 


Hume 


tt 


54 




u 


Scott 


u 


54 




ti 


Mrs. Hemans 


u 


54 




(t 


Prof. Agassiz 


u 


54 




«« 


Sharon Turner 


tt 


53 




u 


Prescott 


«( 


53 




<( 


Byron 


ti 


53 




a 


Blackstone 


«< 


52 




«< 


Tillotson 


u 


5i 




u 


Jonathan Edwards 


(( 


50 




tt 


Queen Victoria's Address to Parliament 


(« 


50 




tt 


Whereas : 










London Times counts but 49 per 


cent 


particles. 


Franklin " 




49 


«« 


tt 


Constitution of the United States " 




48 


<« 


tt 


H. Kiddle 




48 


«( 


tt 


New York Tribune " 




48 


<( 


a 


Shakespeare " 




47 


t* 


(< 


Bill of Rights 




47 


(< 


tt 


Pope " 




46 


(< 


tt 


Milton " 




44 


ii 


ti 


Longfellow ' ' 




44 


c( 


tt 


Prof. J. W. Draper " 




44 


it 


tt 


Mrs. Somerville " 




43 


u 


(I 


New York Herald " 




40 


(< 


a 


' Bishop Berkeley " 




39 


" 


tt 



66o 



English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 



Hence, the Bible exhibits the highest, and Bishop Berkeley's 
famous " Poem on the Planting of Arts and Learning in America" 
the lowest percentage of particles. 

The above figures seem to indicate that historic works contain 
more particles than other literary productions ; and that the Bill 
of Rights and Constitution of the United States occupy a middle 
rank as to particles. 

Behold some of the writings and authors whose works contain 
most and least words of Gotho-Germanic origin : 



The Bible 


has 


78 per cent.. 


Gotho-Germanic words. 


Bryant's poetry 


tt 


77 


a 


a a 


Fitz Green Halleck 


a 


77 


tt 


a u 


Byron 


a 


76 


a 


a a 


Mrs. M. J. Holmes* 


a 


75 


u 


a a 


Aphra Behn 


a 


74 


a 


tt a 


Shelley 


a 


74 


tt 


a a 


Longfellow's poetry 


a 


73 


a 


a a 


Tennyson 


a 


7i 


tt 


it a 


Spurgeon 


it 


7i 


tt 


a tt 


Home Journal, N. Y., 


(( 


7i 


" 


tt a 


Dickens 


cc 


69 


a 


a a 


R. C. Trench 


a 


68 


a 


a a 


Miss M. Braddon 


tt 


68 


a 


a tt 


Mrs. Hemans 


a 


67 


tt 


tt (C 


Mrs. Sigourney 


a 


65 


a 


a a 


Miss V. W. Johnson 


tt 


65 


u 


a a 


Mrs. J. L. Weisse 


a 


64 


tt 


a a 


Cardinal McCloskey 


tt 


64 


a 


(1 tt 


Epes Sargent 


a 


64 


a 


tt a 


Queen Victoria's " Journal" 


tt 


63 


a 


a tt 


Hubert H. Bancroft 


a 


^3 


a 


a tt 


Shakespeare 


tt 


62 


a 


tt a 


New York Daily Graphic 


a 


62 


u 


a a 


Dryden 


tt 


61 


(( 


tt it 


Milton 


u 


61 


a 


a tt 


Pope 


u 


61 


a 


a a 


E. H. Chapin 


<c 


61 


a 


a a 


Miss Sedgwick 


IC 


58 


a 


a it 


H. Seymour 


(( 


57 


a 


tt (i 


W. Seward 


it 


57 


u 


a tt 


Archbishop Oxenden 


u 


56 


u 


a tt 



* Here are eleven authoresses, using from seventy-five to fifty-one per cent. 
Anglo-Saxon. Aphra Behn, A.D. 1670, was the pioneer English authoress. 



Nineteenth Century. 



661 



Miss Edgeworth 


has 


56 


per cent. 


Gotho-Germanic words. 


Prof. J. \V. Draper 


c< 


55 


a 


(t ;. 


John Bright 


u 


55 


a 


<« «< 


J. A. Froucle 


u 


55 


n 


44 (4 


James Brooks 


(( 


55 


u 


it 44 


Harper's Monthly Magazine 


u 


55 


<< 


(« u 


Brooklyn Daily Eagle 


* 4 


54 


44 


(« u 


"The Nation," N. Y., 


44 


53 


" 


u 44 


Bret Harte 


n 


53 


u 


44 u 


New York Times 


u 


52 


" 


U (1 


Hallam 


" 


52 


u 


a u 


San Francisco Daily Morning 


Call " 


52 


" 


u 44 


Gladstone 


44 


52 


u 


u u 


Hume 


" 


52 


(( 


u 44 


Prof. Max Miiller 


ki 


52 


(( 


(t a 


Buckle 


u 


5i 


44 


U (( 


Calcutta Journal of A. S. 


II 


5i 


(( 


U U 


Mrs. Blavatsky 


u 


5i 


u 


a a 


Bishop W. B. Stevens 


a 


5o 


" 


44 (« 


Whereas : 










The New York Observer 


has but 


33 per cent. 


Gotho-Germanic words. 


Robertson's History 


u 


35 


u 


(4 44 


Bill of Rights 


" 


36 


u 


U 44 


Constitution of the U. S. 


u 


36 


44 


44 <•< 


Geo. Bancroft 


44 


38 


44 


U « 


Geo. P. Marsh 


" 


4i 


44 


44 (« 


Queen Victoria's Address to P. " 


4i 


" 


i( 44' 


Sir James Mackintosh 


" 


41 


u 


(( U 


New Orleans Times 


u 


42 


44 


44 <« 


Prof. J. Fiske 


tc 


43 


14 


44 44 


Montreal Gazette 


u 


44 


u 


«< 44 


Sharon Turner 


(( 


45 


44 


44 (( 


Declaration of Independence, 


'776," 


45 


44 


(4 a 


Bishop A. C. Coxe 


u 


47 


a 


c< a 


Boston Daily Globe 


" 


47 


44 


44 << 


Lord Brougham 


(C 


48 


c( 


44 << 


Prof. Huxley 


11 


48 


14 


44 44 


Bishop C. F. Robertson 


44 


48 


u 


«« 44 



Hence, the Bible has most and the " New York Observer " and 
Robertson's works least Gotho-Germanic or Anglo-Saxon. The 
above percentages clearly show, that sacred literature, poetry, and 
romance contain most,, while history law, and the press contain 
least Gotho-Germanic or Anglo-Saxon. 



662 



English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 



We are disappointed to find but forty-one per cent. Gotho-Ger- 
manic in Sir James Mackintosh and Marsh, and forty -five per cent. 
in Sharon Turner. Such strenuous advocates of Anglo-Saxon 
should have furnished in their own writings a pure Anglo-Saxon 
vocabulary ; yet the former used fifty-nine and fifty-eight, the 
latter fifty-five per cent. Greco-Latin. Also Lord Brougham, 
who advised the graduates of Glasgow University to avoid Latin 
words and use Anglo-Saxon, employed forty-eight per cent. 
Gotho-Germanic and fifty-one per cent. Greco-Latin ! ! 

We expected to find most Greco-Latin in scientific and medi- 
cal works : not so — for 



The New York Observer 

Robertson's History 

Philadelphia Ledger 

Bill of Rights, A.D. 1688, 

Melbourne Argus (Australia) 

Constitution of the U. S. 

"The World," New York, 

Geo. Bancroft 

New York "Sun" 

Philadelphia "Press" 

War toil 

New York "Tribune" 

Teckchand Thakur (India) 

Queen Victoria's Address to P. 

H. Kiddle 

W. D. Voorhees 

Prof. J. Fiske 

Montreal "Gazette" 

Port Elizabeth Telegraph (Africa) 

Gibbon 

Washington's Farewell Address 

London Tiroes 

Appleton's Journal 

Bombay Indian Spectator 

Robert Burton, A.D. 1621, 

Prescott 

T. H. Tanner's "Practice of Medicine" 

Chicago "Tribune" 

Prof. J. W. Draper 

S. A. Allibone 

Darwin 

Barnes' Educational Journal 



shows 65 per cent. Greco-Latin words. 



64 


1 tt u 


64 • 


1 tt K 


63 ' 


1 u tt 


<>3 ' 


l U tt 


62 


t tt tt 


62 


t tt tt 


61 


t tt tt 


60 


t tt tt 


60 


t tt tt 


58 « 


t tt tt 


58 « 


c tt tt 


58 ' 


t c( tt 


57 


t tt It 


57 


t tt ft 


57 


t tt tt 


56 ' 


t ft a 


56 ' 


t a a 


56 < 


1 tt (( 


55 


t tt tt 


55 


t it it 


55 


1 tt tt 


55 


t <t it 


55 


( u It 


54 ' 


( U tt 


54 


1 a tt 


54 


t ft u 


54 


t tt u 


53 


t tf l( 


53 


t tf ft 


53 


( ft «< 


52 


( <( tt 



Nineteenth Century. 



663 



New York "Herald" 


shows 


52 per cent 


Greco-Latin words. 


Ex-President Grant 


<< 


52 


<c 


a it 


Prof. C. H. Hitchcock 


it 


5i 


(( 


a tt 


New Zealand Herald (Oceanica) 


tt 


51 


it 


tt tt 


Prof. W. D. Whitney 


tt 


5o 


it 


tt tt 


Prof. Huxley 


" 


So 


it 


tt tt 


Lord Duffer in 


U 


So 


it 


tt tt 


Whereas : 










The Bible 


shows but 


22 per 


cent. 


Greco-Latin woi 


■ds 


Halleck 


a 


22 


cc 


a t 




H. Blair, A.D. 1783, 


tt 


49 


<< 


tt t 




Mrs. Somerville 


u 


47 


« 


tt t 




Prof. Proctor (Astronomy) 


u 


47 


« 


tt t 




Prof. Max Miiller 


it 


47 


(< 


tt t 




Prof. Tyndall 


(( 


46 


a 


tt t 




Prof. A. Gray 


it 


45 


tt 


tt t 




Prof. Agassiz 


tt 


42 


tt 


tt t 





Hence, The New York Observer, Robertson's History, and 
Philadelphia Ledger have most, and the Bible and Halleck least 
Greco-Latin. Here we find that History, Jurisprudence, and the 
Press use more Greco-Latin words than sacred writings, poetry, 
romance and domestic subjects. Science ranks between history 
and poetry as regards Greco-Latin words ; for 

Agassiz's " Natural History" has 42 per cent. Greco-Latin. 
Professor Tyndall "47 " " 

Even Medicine, in which we expected to find a pure Greco-Latin 
vocabulary, contains less of that class of words than History, 
Law, and the Press, as shown by our Extract from Tanner's 
standard work, entitled " Practice of Medicine," which gives but 
fifty-four per cent. Greco-Latin, while Robertson's history has 
sixty-four and the Constitution of the U. S. sixty-two per cent. 
Greco-Latin. 

It may be said that the above figures may err, as regards an 
author's entire works. So they may ; but they are the nearest 
approach that can be made, as to repetitions, particles and origin 
of words. Since most styles of writing and standard authors o{ 
every century are to be found in our close numeric analysis, the 
most accurate results possible, as to the origin of the English 



664 English Period ', A.D. 1600- 1878. 

Language, have been reached, although some writers' works may 
not be fully represented in our Extracts and Tables. 

We observed throughout our analysis, from Aphra Behn to Mrs. 
Somerville, that women used more Anglo-Saxon than Greco- 
Latin words, as may be noticed in our Bird's-Eye Views of the 
nine styles. We attribute this more numerous Anglo-Saxon 
vocabulary to the fact, that women, having no classical education, 
are not as familiar with Greco-Latin terms as men. Aphra Behn, 
A.D. 1670, was the pioneer of English liter atce. She opened 
the galaxy of P^nglish female intellects. No wonder the English 
court and people welcomed a real English authoress. Whatever 
hypercritics may say, Sir Walter Scott's grand-aunt told her illus- 
trious nephew : " I have heard (Aphra Behn's books) read aloud 
for the amusement of large circles, consisting of the first and 
most creditable society in London." 

At this the illustrious bard was ready to hold up his hands in 
holy horror ; for he thought himself and his generation purer and 
better than that of Aphra Behn, forgetting History's lesson, that 
language, literature, manners, customs, and even morals change 
according to times, circumstances, communities, nations and 
races : The Egyptians, Phenicians and Hindoos worshiped de- 
formities and monstrosities ; our Medieval ancestors used fire and 
sword in war, massacred prisoners, built feudal castles and per- 
formed scriptural plays instead of dramas. The Greeks and Ro- 
mans raised altars to dissolute Jupiter, drunken Bacchus, indecent 
Venus, thieving Mercury, and even to infernal Pluto and Discord ; 
yet they had Minos, Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato, Corinna, Aris- 
totle, Hypatia ; Numa, Egeria, Cincinnatus, Cato, Cornelia, 
Pliny, Seneca, Antoninus Pius, &c, which but proves Christ's : 
"Blessed are the pure in heart" and St. Paul's : " Unto the pure 
all things are pure" Moreover, the eminent novelist overlooked 
the fact, that the bee gathers honey, not only from the lily and 
rose, but from the brier and thistle. 

After thus tracing the origin of the vocabulary of English 
literature in its different styles, we cursorily allude to some 
authors who unintentionally gave erroneous impressions on the 
status of the English language as to the origin of its present vo- 
cabulary. We read in Sharon Turner's " History of the Anglo- 
Saxons," Vol. II., p. 441 : 



Nineteenth Century. 



665 



" The great proof of the copiousness and power of the Anglo-Saxon lan- 
guage may be had from considering our own English, which is principally 
Saxon. It may be interesting to show this by taking some lines of our prin- 
cipal authors and marking in italics the Saxon words : 

" SHAKESPEARE." 

" To be or not to be, that is the question ; 
Whether His nobler in the mind to suffer 
The stings and arrows of outrageous fortune, 
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, 
And by opposing end them ? To die, to sleep ; 
No ?nore ! and by a sleep to say we end 
The heartache, and the thoitsand natural shocks ; * 
The flesh is heir to I ''twere a consummation 
Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep ; 
To sleep ? perchance to dream ! " 

This passage, according to Sharon Turner's " marking," con- 
tains sixty-eight Gotho-Germanic or Anglo-Saxon, and thirteen 
Greco-Latin — total, eighty-one words, which include thirty-five 
repetitions that should not be counted when tracing the origin 
of the words, because among the sixty-eight Anglo-Saxon words 



to 


occurs 


13 


times. 


be 


occurs 


7 times. 


the 
and 


u 


6 

4 


u 


sleep, n. and v. , 
die 


u 


4 " 
2 " 


a 
of 


«< 


3 

2 








13 " 


by 
or 


H 

U 


2 
2 

32 


u 
it 

particles. 









Hence, the above seven insignificant Anglo-Saxon particles 
count thirty-two instead of seven, and the three verbs, be, sleep, 
die, count thirteen instead of three, whereas the thirteen Greco- 
Latin words, question, fortime, &c, and the twenty-three other 
Anglo-Saxon words, occurring each but once, count each but 
one. No doubt, the erudite author of " History of the Anglo- 
Saxons" did not perceive the inconsistency of his method in 
tracing the origin of the English vocabulary ; his Anglo-Saxon 

* We think with N. Webster, that the English shock, n. and v., was de- 
rived from French choc, n., and choquer, v. Bosworth's Anglo-Saxon Dic- 
tionary has scacan. to shake. 



666 English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 

enthusiasm caused this oversight. By our method of analyzing, 
in which one and the same word counts but one, whether it is 
an insignificant particle like the, and, of, &c., or a term of the- 
highest importance, like questio?i, mind, consummation, drea?n, 
&c, we only find in the above passage forty-six different words, 
fourteen of which are Greco-Latin, all words of inherent mean- 
ing, and thirty-two Gotho-Germanic, sixteen of which are par- 
ticles, leaving but sixteen Gotho-Germanic words of inherent 
meaning. As our readers fully understand our mode of analyz- 
ing, we only give ultimate results without a Table. 

The above passage from Shakespeare is followed by similarly 
marked extracts from 



Milton, 


Spenser, 


Robertso 


Cowley, 


Locke, 


Hume, 


Bible, 


Pope, 


Gibbon, 


Thomson, 


Young, 


Johnson. 


Addison, 


Swift, 





After counting passages in the works of Alfred the Great, and 
other Anglo-Saxon writers, including repetitions, Sharon Turner 
observes, p. 446 : 

" Perhaps we shall be nearer the truth if we say as a general principle, that 
one-fifth of the Anglo-Saxon language has ceased to be used in modern Eng- 
lish. This loss must be of course taken into account, when we estimate the 
copiousness of our ancient language, by considering how much of it our Eng- 
lish authors exhibit." 

This " general principle " of Sharon Turner is thus contra- 
dicted in Oliphant's "Sources of Standard English," 1873, P- 2I ^ : 

"Of all the weighty words {nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs),* used 
in the Song On the Confessor's Death, as nearly as possible half have dropped 
out of speech. In the poems written a hundred years after the Conquest, say 
the rimes on the Lord's Prayer, published by Dr. Morris, the proportion of 
words of weight, now obsolete, is one-fifth of the whole, much as it is in 
English prose of that date. In the poem of 1066, nearly fifty out of a hundred 
of these words are clean gone." 

Geo. P. Marsh, in his Lectures on the English Language, p. 90, 
says : 

* Oliphant means to convey the idea that words of inherent meaning be- 
came obsolete, while particles remained. 



Nineteenth Century. 667 

" Conclusions, based on data so insignificant in amount as those given by 
Turner, are entitled to no confidence whatever." 

Yet, according to this statement, p. 91 : 

" In all cases proper names are excluded from the estimates, but, in com- 
puting the etymological proportions of the words used in the Extracts examined, 
all other words of whatever grammatical class, and all repetitions of the same 
words, are counted." 

He imitates Sharon Turner's method of counting in his con- 
clusions the, and, of, &c, as many times as they occur; then he 
adds : 

" I have made no attempt to assign words, not of Anglo-Saxon origin, to 
their respective sources, &c. Words of original Latin etymology have been 
in the great majority of instances borrowed by us from the French, and are 
still used in forms more in accordance with the French than with the Latin 
orthography." 

The more accurate Oliphant, seeing this glaring inconsistency, 
observes in his u Standard English," p. 216 : 

"I cannot see the use of counting, as Marsh does, every of and the and 
him, in order to find out the proportion of home-born English in different 
authors." 

Another erudite writer on the origin of the English vocabulary, 
Dean Trench, tells us : 

"Suppose the English language to be divided into a hundred parts ; of 
these, to make a rough distribution, sixty would be Saxon, thirty would be 
Latin (including of course the Latin which has come through the French), 
five would be Greek; we should then have assigned ninety-five parts, leaving 
the other five, perhaps too large a residue to be divided among all the other 
languages, from which we have adopted isolated words." 

On these percentages Geo. P. Marsh has the following, p. 91 : 

" The proportions, five per cent., allowed by Trench to Greek words, I 
think too great, as is also that for other miscellaneous etymologies, unless we 
follow the Celtic school in referring to a Celtic origin ail roots common to 
that and to Gothic dialects." 

The learned J. Bosworth, D.D., F.R.S., F.S.A., author of the 
best Anglo-Saxon dictionary and grammar, says : 

"The foreign words in the English language are, for the most part, used 
to express scientific or abstract ideas, and were introduced from the French." 



668 English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 

After such convincing proof of Sharon Turner's, Marsh's, and 
Trench's erroneous methods and statements, we need not com- 
ment thereon any further. 

We think our 68 + per cent. Greco-Latin, 

30 + " Gotho-Germanic or Anglo-Saxon, 
2 — " Celtic, and traces of Semitic and 
Sclavonic, 
resulting from ultimate different words of fifty Tables from the 
fifty most prominent authors and writings of the English Period, 
A.D. 1600-1878, must irrevocably settle the origin of the present 
English vocabulary ; for these percentages contain no repeated 
words. Even before our average percentages of the nine styles 
of writing, based on from fourteen to thirty-eight authors and 
writings, the idea of five or thirty per cent. Greco-Latin must 
vanish ; because about 200 of the noblest literary productions, 
represented in the nine styles, show percentages averaging from 
thirty-one to fifty-three per cent. Greco-Latin, as may be seen 
in the average of the poetic and historic styles. The average 
percentages from the styles include repeated words, especially 
the, and, of, &c, which occur in the result from every author or 
writing ; whereas, the percentages 
68 + per cent. Greco-Latin, 
30 + " Gotho-Germanic, 

2 — " Celtic, and traces of Sclavonic and Semitic 

are from ultimate different words. 

As we have extolled the advantages of English, let us now 
allude to some of its defects, thus far unconsciously retained by 
eminent authors : Our fifty Extracts of the English Period, A.D. 
1600-1878, numbering 9,554 words, contain 7,272, or seventy- 
six per cent, repetitions, and 4,693, or forty-nine per cent, parti- 
cles ; yet these fifty Extracts are from the best English authors 
and writings. When we realize such facts we must confess, that 
even English, the choicest and most elastic of the modern idioms, 
is not as telegraphic and concise as it might be, and is yet capa- 
ble of improvement as to repetitions and particles, to say noth- 
ing of harmony between " the written and spoken word" Milton's 
" Paradise Lost " shows twenty- six per cent, repetitions, while 
Blackstone's Commentaries exhibit fifty-three per cent. : Shake- 
speare has forty-seven per cent, particles, while Gibbon has sixty 



Nineteenth Century. 669 

per cent, repetitions. Such discrepancies should be brought to 
the notice of linguists and educators, who may endeavor to cor- 
rect them as much as possible, and render their already superior 
language worthy of its high mission. The fact that some emi- 
nent writers use so many more repetitions and particles than 
others shows, that a happy medium might be reached. Before we 
made this numeric analysis we could not have imagined, that the 
insignificant particle //^occurs nine times, and four times, where 
such words as God, man, plant, virtue ; come, think, admire ; 
divine, human ; kindly, gentle, &c, occur each but once. This 
abuse is not confined to English • we find it in Greek, French, 
German, Latin, &c. 6, rj, to, kou, &c, are numerous in Homer 
and Demosthenes ; le, la, les, et, &c, in Racine and Thiers ; 
der, die, das, und, &c., in Schiller and Humboldt ; et and que in 
Latin. True, Latin has no articles, but that is more than coun- 
terbalanced by complicated inflections of nouns and adjectives. 
Children at school should have their attention drawn to these 
linguistic abuses, and should be educated to convey their ideas 
in the fewest words possible. 

Our numerous Extracts, Tables, and Percentages reveal these 
linguistic facts ; sacred writings, domestic topics, school-books, 
and didactic lectures abound in repetitions ; next come preach- 
ers, journalists, political speakers, historians and scientists ; then 
poets, whom measure and rhyme compel to be concise. Nearly 
half the words in the best authors are words without inherent 
meaning, ox particles. If such is the case in print, what shall be 
said of daily intercourse and conversation as regards repetitions 
and particles ? It is to be hoped telegraphing, phonography, and 
philology will do away with linguistic prolixity in order to save 
time, ink, and paper, to say nothing of vocal organs. Spartan 
laconism in speech and print and Pythagorian schools would not 
come amiss in this age of small print and smaller talk, less tongue, 
more brain, fewer words, more thought ; less spelling-books, less 
grammar, syntax, more practice in expressing thought on paper ; 
less preaching, more example would soon lead towards a higher 
intellectual, social, and moral standard. All tends to shorten space 
by air-line railroads, time by telegraphs, cables, telephones, and 
labor by machinery. This is well ; but why not carry the same 
tendency into language ? 



670 English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 

The Greco-Latin vocabulary, in the English idiom, consists 
almost entirely of words with inherent meaning ; whereas the 
Anglo-Saxon or Gotho-Germanic contains mostly words without 
inherent meaning, ox particles. 

Certain styles of writing demand more or less Gotho-Germanic, 
while others require more or less Greco-Latin : for domestic and 
emotional subjects Gotho-Germanic almost suffices ; whereas 
topics of science, art, and progress necessitate Greco-Latin. Thus 
one and the same author, writing a prayer, or a poem on some 
primitive theme, unconsciously uses about seventy-eight per cent. 
Gotho-Germanic and twenty-two per cent. Greco-Latin ; yet in 
the preface he uses from fifty to sixty per cent. Gotho-Germanic, 
and from forty to fifty per cent. Greco-Latin, as appears in Hal- 
leck's, Bryant's, and Longfellow's writings. 

Historians, jurists, statesmen, and scientists use about fifty or 
sixty per cent. Greco-Latin {all words of inherent meaning), and 
forty or fifty per cent. Gotho-Germanic, including from eighteen 
to thirty-two per cent, words without inherent meaning, ox parti- 
cles. The only reason we can assign for this vocabular difference 
is, that Gotho Germanic is primitive and Greco-Latin progres- 
sive. Hence it is evident that, as science, art and literature 
advance, the Greco- Latin element increases in the English lan- 
guage, while the Gotho-Germanic diminishes or remains station- 
ary. This tendency is not confined to English, for the objections 
of German critics to Greco-Latinisms and Heyse's Dictionary of 
6,000 foreign words, show a similar tendency in German. After 
all, language is a mysteriously divine attribute ; for among the 
245,000 species that occupy the rounds of the animal ladder, man 
alone possesses it. 

Present English, invariable as to articles, having hardly any in- 
flections for nouns and adjectives, tells the learner add u s 9t to the 
singular and you have the plural (with but a decade of excep- 
tions, as : child, children ; man, men, &c), and is nearly without 
conjugational change in verbs. Hence, grammatic trifles and 
puerilities, so numerous in Greek, Latin, French, and German, 
are comparatively unknown £0 English, which might be styled the 
telegraphic language par excellence, were it not for its compli- 
cated spelling, that could be easily adjusted. 

We have throughout this work alluded to thoughts, ideas, Ian- 



Nineteenth Century. 671 

guages. literatures and events, that directly or indirectly acted 
and reacted on the English language and literature ; because we 
believe there is a mental as well as a material magnetism. We 
think there are mental as well as electro-magnetic currents ; 
mental, as well as isothermal lines around our planet. Thoughts 
and ideas, whether merely conceived, orally uttered, written or 
printed, are as indestructible as matter ; they circulate, undulate, 
vibrate as do light, heat, electricity, magnetism ; they are to the 
mental what imponderabilia are to the material world. Ideas, 
conceived, uttered or written in Asia, Africa, Europe, by Japhet- 
ite, Semite, Hamite, Arian, Greek, Roman, Celt, Goth or Ger- 
man, have ever been winging their way around the Earth to meet 
minds ready to re-conceive, re -utter, re-write and re-print them 
more clearly, more distinctly, more forcibly,' more impressively. 
Thus all in the universe moves, lives and tends to progress, 
whether we realize it or not. The telegraph, cable, telephone 
and Edison's phonograph corroborate our theory. There is deep 
significance in Christ's saying : "The wind bloweth where it 
listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell 
whence it cometh, and whither it goeth : so is every one that is 
born of the Spirit." 

Here a concise retrospect of the three Periods of the English 
language and literature will enable readers to survey at a glance 
fourteen centuries, A.D. 449-1878: 

Origin of the Anglo-Saxon, Franco-English and English 
Vocabularies, compared. 

Ultimate Results from the three Periods of the English language, 
indicating the gradual additions to its vocabulary, as shown 
by our Extracts and Tables : 

At the close of the Anglo-Saxon Period, A.D. 1200, the vocab- 
ulary of the Anglo-Saxon literature numbered : 
91 + per cent. Gotho-Germanic or Anglo-Saxon ; 
8 + " Greco-Latin, including but two per cent. French, and 
Traces of Semitic, that came into it through the 
Bible. 
At the close of the Franco-English Period, A.D. 1600, the vo- 
cabulary of the Franco-English literature showed : 



672 English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 

50 per cent. Gotho-Germanic, including 47 per cent. Anglo-Saxon ; 
48 " Greco-Latin, including 43 per cent. French ; about 
2 " Celtic, and 

Traces of Semitic. 

Whereas the vocabulary of the literature of the English Period 
from A.D. 1600 to our day, 1878, counts : 

30 + per cent. Gotho-Germanic, including 28 per cent. Anglo- 
Saxon ; 
68+ " Greco-Latin, including 53 per cent. French ; about 

2— " Celtic, and 

Traces of Sclavonic and Semitic. 

Hence, within the last fourteen centuries the Greco-Latin ele- 
ment in the Anglo-Saxon dialect rose to 8 per cent, during the 
Anglo-Saxon, 48 per cent, during the Franco-English, and 68 per 
cent, during the English Period; 53 of the 68 per cent. Greco- 
Latin are French. 

In the face of this constant and steady increase, Anglo Saxonists 
clamored in vain against the addition of foreign words ; the Greco- 
Latin rivulet so swelled the linguistic stream, that in 1878 English 
counts but about 30 per cent. Gotho-Germanic and 68 per cent. 
Greco-Latin. With such a percentage of Greco-Latin should 
English be classed any longer among the Gotho-Germanic lan- 
guages ? 

Could the three humble Gotho-Germanic tribes, Jutes, Saxons 
and Angles, who carried the Gothic and German dialects to 
Britain from A.D. 449 to 586, have dreamt that the Anglo-Saxon 
idiom, formed therefrom, would attract the choicest linguistic 
roots, and mould them into a language, which would rule pro- 
gressed and unprogressed nations and tribes, inhabiting zones, 
that extend from the North to the South Pole ? 

English and American scholars and statesmen are slow to real- 
ize, that their language is now about three-quarters Greco-Latiii 
and one-quarter Gotho-Germanic or Anglo-Saxon ; that language 
is the closest international bond ; that harping on Anglo-Saxon 
is out of date and contrary to the instincts of the English-speak- 
ing masses, who, like their native tongue, incline more towards 
Greco-Latin than Anglo-Saxon or Gotho-Germanic ideas, which 
have been fading from the English idiom for five centuries. Any 
man, who speaks a language three-quarters Greco-Latin, is at 



Nineteenth Century. 673 

least three-quarters Greco-Latin in his feelings, thoughts, and 
ideas. Moreover, the English and Greco-Latin-speaking nations 
of to-day lean towards Republicanism, whereas the Gotho-Ger- 
man-speaking races talk of the Fatherland and hug a military 
despotism, that makes every man a life -long consuming and killing 
machine. A people's language and proclivities are the surest 
test of its instincts, intellectuality, morals, and religion. To ig- 
nore this places the governing and governed in a false position 
towards each other, which sooner or later produces such revolu- 
tions as the English (1688) and the French (1789), intellectual 
restraint being more resented than any other. Show me a na- 
tion's vocabulary, and I will tell you what that nation is or was. 
To bring about a grand international linguistic reform, we ad- 
vocate uniform decimal measures, weights, and coins, as its fore- 
runner. France, Italy, Belgium, and Switzerland have initiated 
the movement ; if England and the United States join, uniform 
measures, weights, and coins will soon gird the globe, as other 
nations must and will follow their example. Such means and 
combinations would simplify commerce, facilitate travel, favor 
general education, and necessitate a universal language. 



DESTINY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



Before we speak directly of the destiny of the English lan- 
guage, a few preparatory remarks will be of importance : The 
extension of the English language since the landing of the Jutes 
on the Isle of Thanet under Hengist and Horsa, A.D. 449, is a 
curious historic and geographic phenomenon, especially when we 
consider, that the Jutes were of Scytho-Gothic origin, and carried 
to Britain the elements of the Gothic dialect, into which Ulfilas 
translated the Scriptures for the Goths, A.D. 376 ; that the Saxons 
and Angles brought to Britain the roots of the Germanic dia- 
lects; that from A.D. 449 to 1154 the Gothic and Germanic vo- 
cabularies mingled and produced the Anglo-Saxon tongue and 
literature, which amalgamated with Greek and Latin through 
French, and formed the present " composite English language," 
43 



674 English Period \ A.D. 1 600-1 

whose expanse within the last two hundred and seventy years 
has been astounding, as may be realized by the following Table : 

Expanse of Anglo-Saxon and its Daughter English, from A.D. 
449 to 1878, in Europe, to 

a.d. 

The Isle of Thanet (landing of the Jutes under Hengist and Horsa). . . 449 

Kent (Kingdom of Kent under Hengist) 455 

Sussex (Kingdom of Sussex under Ella) 491 

Wessex (Kingdom of Wessex under Cerdic) 494 

Essex (Kingdom of Essex under Erchesvin) 527 

Bernicia (Kingdom of Bernicia under Ida) 547 

Deira (Kingdom of Deira under Ella) 557 

East Anglia (Kingdom of East Anglia under Uffa) 571 

Mercia (Kingdom of Mercia under Crida) 586 

Cornwall and Chester, conquered by Egbert about 810 

Ireland, conquered by Henry II , 1 169 

Wales, " " Edward I , 1284 

Scotland, Orkney, Shetland, and Hebrides Isles,* annexed under James 

I. , King of England 1603 

Gibraltar, conquered from Spain 1704 

Malta Island, \ 

Gozo " I conquered from France 1800 

Comino " j 

Heligoland Isle, taken from Denmark 1807 

Area: 121,250 sq. m. Population: 31,977,427 souls=264 souls per sq. m. 

Imagine the three humble Gothic-Germanic tribes : Jutes, 
Saxons, Angles, carrying from Germany to Britain the elements 
of a language which, A.D. 1800, triumphed in the Isle of Melita, 
where the Phenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, and Romans had 
ruled successively, and where Paul was stranded on his way to 
Rome ; then follow that magic tongue to America, where, in 
spreading from the Atlantic to the Pacific, it echoed in 

A.D. 

Newfoundland or Labrador, under the guidance of Cabot 1497 

Virginia 1607 

Bermuda Islands 1609 

Massachusetts 1620 

* The Orkney and Shetland Isles were given to James III., King of Scot- 
land, as a dowry for Margaret, daughter of Christian I., King of Denmark 
from A.D. 1460 to 1488. As the language in them was Danish, it had more 
affinity with English than with Scotch. 



Nineteenth Century. 675 

A.D. 

New Hampshire 1623 

Barbadoes Islands 1624 

Maryland - . 1624 

Bahama Islands 1629 

Rhode Island, settled by Roger Williams 1636 

Connecticut 1636 

New Jersey 1640 

North Carolina. 1640 

Honduras 1643 

Jamaica Island, conquered from Spain 1656 

New York, conquered from Holland 1664 

South Carolina 1670 

Pennsylvania, settled by the humane William Penn 1 68 1 

St. Christopher Island (West Indies) 1713 

Newfoundland 17*3 

Vermont 1724 

Georgia 1 733 

Canada, conquered from France 1759 

Tobago Island (West Indies) 1763 

Michigan, conquered from France 1763 

Tennessee 1 765 

Falkland Islands 1 765 

Kentucky (Daniel Boone) 1 775 

Ohio { 1788 

Vancouver's Island 1781 

Oregon, discovered by Capt. Robert Gray, of Boston 1791 

Trinidad Island (West Indies) 1797 

Louisiana, ceded by France to the United States 1803 

British Guayana, conquered from Holland , 1809 

Indiana 1816 

New South Shetland Islands, discovered by Captain Smith 1819 

Florida, ceded by Spain to the United States 1821 

Texas, conquered from Mexico 1821 

California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, &c, conquered from Mexico, 1848 

Alaska, purchased from Russia for $7,200,000 1867 

Population. 
England's American Area : 3,761,350 sq.m. 5,339,822 souls=i| soul persq.m. 

United States " 4,344,117 " 38,923,210 " =g souls " " 

8,105,467 « 44.263,032 " =5i " " " 
Thus has English, since A.D. 1607, penetrated these and other 
States, Territories, and Isles of the New World, where it replaced 
Indian dialects, Spanish, French, Dutch, and Russian, and where, 
at no distant period, it is destined to be the only ruling language, 

provided the English-speaking populations continue the wise and 



6y6 English Period, A.D. 1 600-1 878. 

liberal policy of their founders : Roger Williams, Penn, Washing- 
ton, &c. Already (1878) a party of graduates from Boston Uni- 
versity are about to embark with the best school apparatus for 
South America, where they intend to establish schools on the 
most approved system of English instruction. Another party of 
teachers is soon to follow. This looks as though the progeny of 
the Puritans had consciously or unconsciously resolved to expand 
their ideas and language over the continent their ancestors trod 
A.D. 1621. 

In Asia English gradually extended to 

A.D. 
Surat (a factory, established by grant from the Great Mogul, Jehan-Geer) 1612 

Madras " " " " 1639 

Bombay Island, given as dowry to Charles II. for Catharine of Braganza, 166 1 

Sumatra, settlement at Bencoolen 1690 

Calcutta, purchased 1698 

Mysore (kingdom in Southern Hindostan, conquered) 1780 

Carnatic, partly conquered and partly ceded 1783 

Penang, or Prince of Wales Island, purchased 1786 

Malacca, conquered from Holland 1 795 

Ceylon Island, " " 1796 

Nepaul, part thereof conquered 1816 

Deccan, in Central Hindoostan, ceded to England 1818 

Singapore Island, purchased 1819 

Assam, conquered from Burman Empire 1826 

Aracan, " " 1826 

Martaban, " " 1826 

Tenasserim, " " 1826 

Aden, province and its capital in Southern Arabia 1839 

Hong Kong Island, on coast of China, conquered 1841 

Sarawak, in Borneo, ceded to England 1841 

Scinde, in Northern Hindoostan, conquered 1843 

Punjaub, " " 1846 

Labuan Island, ceded to England 1846 

Pegu, or British Burmah, conquered from the Burman Empire 1852 

The Isle of Cyprus, ceded to England by Turkey 1878 

Area : 1,643,678 sq. m. Population : 237,341,436 souls=i44 souls per sq. m. 

Whatever may be thought or said of this cession, the Christian 
populations of Asia may congratulate themselves on their having 
the English so near to protect them against Turk and Cossack. 
English will now resound where formerly echoed Hebrew, Phe- 
nician, Assyrian, Persian, Greek, Latin, Arabic, and Turkish. 



Nineteenth Century. 6jJ 

As England has ever used Gibraltar, Malta, Aden, Singapore 
for the interest of commerce, civilization, and progress, she will, 
no doubt, use Cyprus for a similar purpose. Queen Victoria was 
proclaimed Empress of India, April, 1876. 
In Africa, English extended to : 

A.D. 

St. Helena Island, conquered from Holland 1651 

Cape Coast Castle, in Guinea 1667 

Seychelles Islands, Indian Ocean, conquered from France 1768 

Sierra Leone, colonized 1 787 

Cape Colony, taken from Holland 1795 

Mauritius Island, Indian Ocean, taken from France 1810 

Ascension Island, Atlantic Ocean, garrisoned 1815 

Liberia, colonized by emancipated slaves from the United States 1821 

Natal, colonized 1823 

Fernando Po Island, in the Atlantic Ocean 1827 

J.Caffraria 1834 

Transvaal, 77,000 sq. miles, very fertile 1871 

Area : 347,975 sq, miles. Population : 2,716,962 souls=8 souls per sq. mile. 

The Kings of Abyssinia and Ashantee, lately conquered, only 
hold their crowns by England's sufferance. 

Suez Canal, about 100 miles long, was constructed by French and Eng- 
lish capitalists at a cost of sixty millions of dollars, under the super- 
intendence of F. de Lesseps, and completed 1869 

In 1875 tne British Government authorized Rothschild to buy 
the Khedive's portion of the canal for ^4,080,000 ; and in 1876 
the House of Commons voted the sum to pay therefor. The 
French and English capitalists, who united to build this commer- 
cial highway, intended to use it only for industrial purposes. The 
vast purchase by the English Government looks like a damper to 
the intention of the projectors. Perhaps England is preparing 
for eventualities in the East. 

The Transvaal and Orange Republics, lately founded in 
Southern Africa by European and African emigrants, unable to 
sustain themselves, must cast their lot with the neighboring 
English colonies. Perhaps the cry of diamonds in that region 
was but a bait to adventurers and emigrants ? Central Africa 
has recently engaged the world's attention. Baker explored it 
from 1861 to 1864; then came Livingstone, whose route Lieu- 
tenant Verney Cameron followed, traversed 1,200 miles of fertile 



67$ English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 

country, and arrived at Portuguese settlements. Stanley, sup- 
ported by the New York Herald and London Daily Telegraph, 
1875, went to the relief of Livingstone, whom he found in an ex- 
hausted and dying condition. After assisting and tending the 
intrepid explorer and his companions, Stanley surveyed. Lake 
Victoria Nyanza, 230 by 180 miles, and found his way to the 
Atlantic by the river Congo, now to be called Livingstone by 
common consent. Thus is Africa's future directly and indirectly 
connected with that of the ninety English-speaking millions. 
English enterprise and English explorers will find their way to 
Central Africa, its vast lakes, rivers, and fertile regions, till emi- 
grants follow, navigate, settle, and cultivate them ; for such, as 
we have shown, has been England's course since she colonized 
Virginia, A.D. 1607, and founded a factory at Surat, A.D. 1612. 
The population of Liberia, under the protection of the United 
States and England, might do much towards civilizing their race 
in benighted Africa; for they have the elements of progress, even 
newspapers, as shown in our Bird's-Eye View of the style of the 
Press. 

In Oceanica, English expanded to : 

Society Islands, visited by Captain Wallis, A.D 1767 

and by Capt. Cook, 1769. In 1829 ten thousand of the natives 
had learned how to read under the tuition of European mission- 
aries. Now the whole population are christianized and civilized. 

Australia (New Holland), explored by Capt. Cook 1770 

who landed at Botany Bay, which he called New South Wales. 
First English settlement at Sydney, 1788, where the Government 
Gazette was printed, 1795. Melbourne, founded 1835, now one 
,of the most thriving cities of Australia. 

New Zealand, visited by Capt. Cook 1770 

English missionaries began their work, 18 14. First English 
colony, 1839. Now the settlers are chiefly English, having among 
them Americans, French, and Germans. In 1856, the natives 
numbered about 120,000; they are naturally gentle, easily 
taught, and capable of a high degree of civilization. Auckland, 
the capital, has now newspapers, literary institutions, museums, 



Nineteenth Century. 679 

opera, and theatres of a high order for a country so recently 

colonized. 

Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), visited by Capt. Cook 1777 

First English penal settlement, 1803. In 1848, the population 
of this distant colony numbered 43,692 free persons, 2,246 mili- 
tary; 24,188 convicts; and but 38 aborigines I total, 70,164. 
It seems the natives of that distant isle were numerous when the 
Dutch mariner, Tasman, discovered it, A.D. 1642. Though they 
resembled Negroes, their features were more pleasing. Now 
that race, numbering but ^8 in 1848, is probably extinct, as so 
many races have been, are, and will be becoming on this planet. 

Pitcairn's Island, a small fertile spot six miles long and three broad, 
famous for its settlement by the mutineers of H. M. ship "Bounty" 
with their Tahitian wives A.D. 1789 

After setting Capt. Bligh and eighteen sailors adrift in a boat, 
the mutineers landed on that island. John Adams, whose real 
name was Alexander Smith, became the patriarch of the colony. 
Accounts of this settlement by Capt. Beechey, 1825, Sir John 
Barrow about 1845, and Rev. E. Murray, 1853, interested readers. 
" The Island" a poem in four cantos, by Byron, is founded on 
the history of this colony. Thus did a criminal adventure ex- 
pand the English language and literature. All those who visited 
that lonely isle, speak of this English and Tahitian cross-breed, 
as a fine athletic race, whose females and males have counte- 
nances, that win the respect and admiration of strangers, who 
unanimously extol the modesty and morality of those innocent 
Polynesians. Why should not this superior cross-breed be en- 
couraged to expand over the southern hemisphere ? 

Fiji Islands, first English settlement i860 

Ceded to England by the native chiefs 1874 

It seems Capt. Wallace visited them 1767? 

Australia, area: 3,100,000 sq. miles. Population: 2,000,000 souls=o.65 
soul per sq. mile. 

Thus has England increased her wealth and expanded her 
superior language. Being the marine police of the world for 
nearly three centuries, she succeeded in stopping the slave trade 



68o English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 

in Western Africa, and is now trying to arrest this nefarious traffic 
in Eastern Africa. Her soldiers passed through the fearful trials 
of the Black Hole, contrived for the'm by Hindoo Moslems. Her 
trusting Envoy, Sir William Macnaghten and his suite, died mar- 
tyrs by the treachery of Akbar Khan, 1841, and were signal] y 
avenged. France checked Moslem progress in the West on the 
Loire, A.D. 732. England attacked and humbled Mahometan 
despotism in its Eastern strongholds : Delhi, Afghanistan, Mysore, 
Burmah and Aden. Her Majesty's ambassador, Gladstone, pro- 
tested against King Bomba's tyranny towards the Lazzaroni. Eng- 
land and the United States have been the asylum of the oppressed 
and persecuted of all countries and climes. The Huguenots 
svere welcomed in England and America, A.D. 1685 ; so were the 
Poles, Hungarians, Cubans, &c. ; even the deluded communists, 
Louis Blanc, Caussidiere, Cabet, &c, were received ; also fugitive 
royalty from France, Spain, Italy and Germany sought and found 
shelter among the English-speaking populations. The United 
States are in honor bound to watch over and protect the infant 
republic of Ham's progeny in Liberia. England has been the 
advocate and champion of individual rights since the day of 
Magna Charta. Her eldest daughter, the United States, espoused 
that principle, when Captain Graham rescued Kotzka from Aus- 
trian oppression at Smyrna, and was indorsed by the liberal policy 
of his government. America also vindicated the individual rights 
of runaways from life-long military service, telling Prussia that, 
after such individuals had become adopted citizens of the United 
States, she must respect such citizenship ; and finally the bombas- 
tic Hohenzollern dynasty conceded this international principle. 
Thus have the ninety English-speaking millions championed pri- 
vate rights at home and abroad, at the risk of threatening compli- 
cations. Humanity should and must feel proud of a race that 
has been, is and will be favoring individual rights and carrying 
forward international progress so quietly and effectually. 

The eminent scientist, de Candolle, thought it was extremely 
probable that within a hundred years the English language would 
be spoken by 860,000,000 of souls, while German would be the 
language of 124,000,000, and French of 69,000,000 only. 

As previously stated, Dr. K. M. Rapp, in his " Physiology of 
Language," says: "The other nations of Europe may esteem 



Nineteenth Century. 



6Si 



themselves fortunate, that the English have not made the discovery 
of the suitableness of their language for universal adoption." 

After analyzing the origin and progress of the English tongue, 
its choice vocabulary, simple grammar, direct construction, varied 
literature, we come to its destiny, which we base on the character 
of its speakers, and on its extent, influence and importance as a 
means of civilization : 

STATISTICS * SHOWING THE POLITICAL, SOCIAL, INTELLECTUAL, MORAL 

AND RELIGIOUS STATUS OF THE POPULATIONS GOVERNED BY 

THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

The English-speaking Populations understand the Science of Govermnent 
better than any other Nation, as may be realized by the following Table : 







SHARE OF THE POPULATION 


ITEMS : 


earth's statistics : 


RULED BY THE ENGLISH 
LANGUAGE : 


Earth's Dry Land, 1873 


51,590,000 square miles. 


13,318,370 square miles, (V4) 


" Population, " 


1,377,000,000 souls. 


318,298,857 souls, > (V 4 ) 




(26 souls per square mile.) 


(24 souls per square mile.\ 


" Dwellings, " 


(?) 


51,185.485 dwellings. 


" Commercial Navy, ' ' 


205,469 vessels. 


67,282 vessels, (over i /^ 


" War Navy, " 


4,005 ships. 


808 ships, V 6 ) 


" Tonnage, " 


15,724,522 tons. 


9,943,727 tons, (nearly 2 / 3 ) 


" Railroads, " 


145,825 miles. 


85,660 miles, (over 1 / 2 1 


" Telegraphs, " 


304,500 miles. 


146,353 miles, (nearly V2) 
( Almost entirely controlled 


" Submarine Cables, " 


52,503 miles. 


■I by the English-speaking 

[ populatio?is. 


" Annual Expendi- ) 






ture for Govern- " > 


4,011,670,000 dollars. 


1,160,930,000 dollars, (over V4) 


ments, ) 






" Standing Armies \ 






on a peace foot- " >• 


5,357,133 soldiers. 


418,640 soldiers, (only J /i3) 


ing, ) 


(1 soldier per 257 souls.) 


(1 soldier per 650 souls.) 


" Imports, " 


6,563,620,000 dollars. 


2,711,620,000 dollars, (over V3) 


" Exports, " 


5,228,720,000 dollars. 


2,466,647,000 doll's, (nearly V2) 


" Postal Service from ) 






1868 to 1871 inclu- V 


3,468,227,000 letters. 


1,761,375,000 letters, (over 1 / 2 ) 


sive, ) 


(2 letters per soul.) 


(6 letters per soul.) 


Bibles and Testaments ~] 
distributed by 84 Bi- ' 
ble Societies from j 
1804 to 1874, J 






117,000,000 Bibles and Tes- 


84,918,215 Bibles and Tes- 


taments. 


taments, (over */ 2 ) 







Thus, Earth's area is 51,590,000 square miles, and its population 
1,3 7 7,000,000. Of this total population the English language 
rules 318,298,857 souls (about ofie-fourth), and 13,318,370 square 
miles (one-quarter) of Earth's land. This land and its dwellers 



* From Census of United States, 1870, and of England, 1871-1872. 



682 English Period, A.D. 1600- 1878. 

are scattered from the North Pole to the Equator, and thence to 
the South Pole. It abounds in the most multifarious mineral and 
agricultural resources, from gold and diamond to iron and coal, 
from wheat to millet, from the sturdy oak to the fragrant cinna- 
mon tree. Its occupants cultivate and manufacture the most 
varied articles, which they ship, carry, sell and exchange all over 
the globe. The English language controls the highways and by- 
ways of trade. It is spoken by all races, from the Esquimaux, 
Caucasian, Malayan, Hindoo and American Indian to the Hot- 
tentot. It commands most of the world's mechanical skill, con- 
sequently most of its manufactures and commerce, and most of 
its political, intellectual, social, moral and religious influence. 
The sun sets daily on other leading languages, but it never sets 
on the English-speaking populations. While the speakers of 
other leading languages are plunged in darkness and sleep, 
speakers of English are wide awake and busily at work in another 
hemisphere. In every country of the globe are English-speaking 
missionaries, trying to advance Christianity and with it their lan- 
guage, civilization and progress. To govern, guard, and protect 
this vast domain, every soul ruled by the English language paid 
but $4.25 annual tax, and the total population furnished only one 
soldier per 650 souls in 1873 ; whereas every soul ruled by the 
Russian language paid $4.50, and the total population furnished 
one soldier in 107 souls ; every soul of the Fatherland paid $6.30, 
and the total population furnished one soldier per 102 souls ; 
every soul in Italy paid $11, and the total population furnished 
one soldier per 80 souls ; every soul in Japan paid $4.50, and the 
total population furnished one soldier per 289 souls. Hence, 
even government is less onerous under English than under any 
other rule. 

In the imports of 1873 me share of the English-speaking popu- 
lations was about one-third, while their share of the exports was 
nearly one-half. This conclusively shows, that they command 
nearly one-half of the world's gold and silver ; yet their popula- 
tion is but one-fifth of Earth's inhabitants, and their area but one- 
quarter of Earth's land. London and New York are mankind's 
commercial agents and financiers. 

Of the 318 millions, ruled by the English idiom, only about ninety 
millions speak English. As far as can be surmised r rom prehis- 



Nineteenth Century. 683 

toric indications and historic data, no language was ever so .videly 
diffused. We conclusively proved, that English is compcsed of 
68 + per cent. Greco-Latin ; 

30+ " Gotho-Germanic, or Anglo-Saxon • 
2— " Celtic, and traces of Sclavonic and Semitic. 

As above stated, this superior linguistic mixture, printed in the 
simple, comely Roman character, rules over one-fourth of Earth's 
inhabitants and over one-quarter of Earth's land. 

Who then can, who will doubt, that a language with such a 
choice vocabulary, such vast resources, and such an enterprising 
population, is destined to become, at no distant period, the uni- 
versal language on Earth ? Circumnavigate the globe — go from 
pole to pole — and the English tongue will hail you on every 
ocean and sea, greet you on every island, welcome you in every 
haven, accompany you along Morse's wires above and under 
water with lightning speed. Even around the sources of the 
White Nile, and among the jungles of Central Africa, it echoed 
from the lips of Baker, Livingstone and Stanley. On this tour 
you meet the ancient Ophir, the famous Eldorado, and a southern 
continent as large as Europe, governed by the English idiom. 

The English-speaking populations had their Numa and Egeria 
in Ethelbert and Bertha, A.D. 570; their Solon in Alfred the 
Great, their Junius Brutus in Cromwell, their Cincinnatus in 
Washington ; their Homer and Hesiod in Caedmon, Chaucer, 
and Milton ; their Sophocles in Shakespeare ; their Aristotle in 
Bacon and Newton ; their Herodotus-, Thucydides, &c, in Hume, 
Gibbon, Prescott, Bancroft, &c. ; their Hippocrates and Galen 
in Sydenham and Harvey ; their Archimedes in Watt, Franklin, 
Faraday, and Morse ; their Demosthenes and Cicero in Burke, 
Pitt, and Webster ; their Hanno and Nearchus in Cook, Drake and 
Anson ; their Pytheas in Sir John Franklin and Dr. Kane ; their 
Sappho, Corinna, Hypatia in Aphra Behn, Lady Montagu, Mrs. 
Hemans, Browning, Sigourney, Miss Mitchell ; their Marco Polo 
in Sir John Mandeville ; their Hipparchus in Horox, Herschel, 
Proctor, Mitchel, &c. ; their Virgil, Horace, &c, in Dryden, Gold- 
smith, Wordsworth, Tennyson, Longfellow, Bryant, Lowell, &c. ; 
their Semiramis in Elizabeth ; and now their Dido in the gentle 
but firm Victoria, who rules over 234,762,593 souls, dwelling in 
44,142.651 houses. Let us not forget that, where Greek and 



684 English Period, A.D. 1600-187S. 

Latin had, in any branch of literature and science, one eminent 
author, the English idiom has ten. Hence, Tyre and Sidon, 
Greece, Carthage, and Rome must go in the shade, when com- 
pared with the countries ruled by the English language, com- 
prising the British Empire, the United States, and Liberia. 
England and the United States should ever go hand in hand — 
for England and America at war should make the angels weep, 
and cause Hope, Liberty, and Justice to hide their faces. Both 
countries have been expanding the English language — England 
by sending colonies to all parts of the globe, America by receiv- 
ing, Anglicizing, and assimilating emigrants from all nations — 
thus England acting as the bee-hive of the English-speaking 
populations, America as their magnet. With their vast domains, 
England and America can say to the masses of Europe and Asia : 
" Come unto us, all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and we 
will give you rest. Our yoke is easy and our burden is light," 
Matt. xi. j 8. 

Now notice the conclusive evidence of a higher intellectual 
development among the English-speaking populations : The 
world's postal service, from 1868 to 18 71, inclusive, shows 
3,468,227,000 letters mailed and carried. Of these billions and 
millions of letters 1,761,875,000 (over one-half) were written, 
mailed, and read by the English-speaking populations. Can 
there be a surer sign of individual and national progress — 
" reading and writing being the primary requisites and key to 
kfiowledge " ? 

The world's statistics of 1880 will show, that the ninety Eng- 
lish-speaking millions have more books, newspapers, and there- 
fore more reading and diffusion of general knowledge, than the 
other 1,200,000,000 of Earth's inhabitants. Soon Australia and 
New Zealand, with their superior newspapers, will have native 
authors and a native literature. So will Cape Colony, Natal, 
Mauritius, and even the Fiji Islands; for they start with a su- 
perior language, which is a prompter of thought, ideas, litera- 
ture, and science. 

England and America can afford to look quietly at the jeal- 
ousies and wars in Europe, while races of all climes increase 
their domain, and while everything points to a speedy advance 
of civilization in the southern hemisphere, whose serene sky, 



Nineteenth Ce?itury. 685 

bright constellations, atmospheric conditions, telluric formation 
and soil are ready for higher intellectual development. Starting 
without Medieval prejudices and drawbacks, Oceanica may soon 
rival the mother country, especially since the rich gold fields of 
Australia have been discovered and opened to all nations. The 
English-speaking populations have done much, and may yet do 
more for the untutored children of Ham. The Greco Latin 
races of Europe, France, Italy, and Spain will gladly aid the 
progress of Africa, where the fabled gardens of the Hesperides 
may yet be realized by the enterprise and daring of such men as 
Baker, Livingstone, Long, Cameron, and Stanley, whose recent 
explorations across equatorial Africa electrified the world. As 
guardians of civilization, England and the United States should 
forget their jealousies and stand together, whenever and wherever 
a question of progress arises. Already the Sandwich Islanders 
had their Bertha in Kamamalu, and their Ethelbert in Liholiho. 
Now they are being educated in their own and in the English 
language. Of the four newspapers they issue, two are native and 
two English. Lately the chiefs of the Samoan or Navigator's 
Islands desired to be annexed to the English-speaking popula- 
tions, only the rivalry between England and the United States 
prevented the union. Ham's progeny in Ashantee must cast 
their lot with the English-speaking populations, and affiliate with 
the Liberians, who are Hamites civilized in America. A colony 
of Icelanders tried to negotiate terms with the United States for 
a settlement in Alaska since their millennial celebration, August 
2, 1874. Lately Mennonites, persecuted in Russia, and Ice- 
landers sought and found welcome homes in Canada, where they 
were graciously visited by the humane Governor, Lord Dufferin. 
Thus dwellers of the Arctic and Antarctic regions, as well as 
those of torrid Africa and Oceanica, are casting their fate with 
the ninety English-speaking millions. 

Such are the character and enterprise of the English-speaking 
peoples ; such their means and resources ; such their extent. 
As to the intrinsic merits of their composite language, we have 
proved that it numbers sixty-eight per cent. Greco-Latin, thirty 
Gotho-Germanic, two per cent. Celtic, and traces of Semitic, 
which enable the instructor of youth, the preacher, scientist, 
journalist, legislator, dramatist, historian, poet, novelist, and 



686 English Period, A.D. 1600-1878. 

miscellaneous writer to find vocabularies suited to their varied 
themes ; these advantages English alone possesses, now, only 
harmonize letter with sound. Already the French savant, de 
Candolle, tells us English will be spoken by eight hundred and 
sixty millions within a hundred years ; and the German scien- 
tist, Dr. Rapp, author of "Physiology of Language" speaks of 
its "suitableness for universal adoption." After such proofs 
and testimonials from unbiased foreign scholars, need we add 
anything more concerning the intrinsic merits of the English 
tongue ? 

Under William the Conqueror, A.D. 1085, the Anglo-Saxon 
dialect, mother of English, ruled over about 2,000,000 souls. 
Under James I., A.D. 1603, the English language began to rule 
over a population of about 7,500,000 souls. Now, 1878, it 
rules over 318,000,000 souls, scattered over the five parts of the 
globe ; and all this has been accomplished within about two hun- 
dred and seventy-five years. If its expanse continues in the 
same ratio for a similar period, it is easy to calculate what the 
English language will be to mankind, A.D. 2000. 

Of all reforms discussed, that of a universal language is the most 
important ; for as soon as the thirteen hundred millions of souls 
on this planet can interchange their thoughts and ideas in one 
and the same language, Earth will be a more progressive, more 
intellectual, and happier home for her children. As linguistic 
limitations disappear, national and social intercourse will expand ; 
a universal language will reveal, that the Himalayas, Alps, Cordil- 
leras, and Andes, saw races and tribes, whose customs, religion, 
rites, and monuments were similar ; that those races uttered roots 
and words, which had a common origin ; and that the Ganges, 
Amoor, Euphrates, Jordan, Nile, Tiber, Don, Rhine, Thames, 
Mississippi, and Amazon, watered fields, cultivated by kindred 
tribes and nations. Moses, the oldest philologist, tells us, Gen. 
xi., 1 and 6 : "The whole Earth was of one language and of one 
speech. The people is o?ie, and they have all one language." 
When mankind again listens to one speech, the Millennium will 
be at hand ; for printing, steam, telegraph, cable, telephone, and 
phonograph will centuple the diffusion of knowledge and wisdom. 



I N DEX. 



INDEX 



In this index the important results may be found under the heads of Origin, 
Progress, Destiny, Langtiage, Synopses, Percentages, Statistics, Anglo- 
Saxon, Franco-English, English, French, Celtic, and Obsolete. Under such 
headings as Anatomic, Legal, Medical, Theologic, Musical, Astronomic, &c. , 
Vocabulary, students will find how and where the terms and phraseologies of 
their respective branches came into the English language ; hence, these head- 
ings will be printed in italics. 



Abdalla, 57 
Abelard, 214 
Academies of literature, science, &c, 

421, 422 
Adam Davie, 286, 287, 397 
Adam of Bremen, 178 
Adalbert, Apostle of Prussia, Hungary, 

and Lithuania, 177 
Adam Smith, 462 
Adams, Mrs., 521 

Adapting sound to letter, 201, 385-396 
Adelard of Bath, scientist, 215 
Addison, 427, 449 

Additions of linguistic gems to Anglo- 
Saxon, 223, 375, 610 
Adjectives, English, 618 
Advent of pure English, 403 
Adverbs, English, 619 
Agassiz, Prof., 348, 663 
Age of languages: English, French, 

German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, 

Latin, Sanscrit, Spanish, 653 
Agricultural vocabulary, 87, 89, no, 

191, 229, 237, 351, 462 
Ahalya Bai, Empress of India, 518, 519 
Air-pump, 423 
Akenside, 462 
A language to suit Anglo-Saxons, 

Franco-Normans and Celts, 244, 245, 

250, 251, 255 
Albigenses, 214, 243 
Alchfleda, Apostle of the Mercians, 78, 

522 
Alcock, 337 

Alcuin, 107, no, in, 130 
Aldhelm, 89, 111 
Alfred the Great, 11, 59, 67, 105, in, 

129, 130, 148, 152, 153, 154, 190, 458 ; 

on equality of mankind, 138 ; on 

44 



"national education," 137; as a sci- 
entist, 141, 142 

Alfredan Era, 136, 181 ; jewel, 131 

Alfred's census, 133 ; A. S. Code, 15*, 
I 53i *54 ; Philosophic Address to De- 
ity, 139 ; navy, 166 ; will, 143 ; grand- 
daughters (five) married European 
sovereigns, 162, 163 

Alfred, anatomist, 242 

Alfric, 47, 167, 168 

Algebraic vocabulary, 315 

Alkalem II., 178 

Allibone, S. A., 654, 662 

Alphabet, 51, 52, 53, 54, 70, 359, 416, 
613 ; universal, 54, 55, 386, 387, 396, 
415, 416, 686 

America, 310, 311, 450, 492, 674, 675, 
684 

America and England hand in hand for 
progress, 496, 497, 498, 501, 508-513, 
672, 673, 680, 684, 685 

American Bible Society, 42 

American enterprise, 404, 405, 442,443, 
445-448, 450, 456-459. 465. 49 6 > 497- 
508-513 

Americans expanding English, 675, 676, 

America's aborigines add a word to 
English, 352 

America's future, 469, 470 
I Americo-Indian languages, 313 
1 Americus Vespucius, 312 

Anatomic vocabulary, 85, 231, 242, 252, 
258, 266, 267, 342, 344, 413 

Andrews, Pettit, 29, 71, 105, 130, 181, 
182, 211, 335 

A?i, dropped from Anglo-Saxon infini- 
tives, 379 

Anesthesis, 500 



690 



Index. 



Angles, 29, 30, 48, 130, 144 ; slaves in 
Rome, 30, 47 

Anglo-Saxon Period, 23-232 ; alphabet, 
51 ; origin and progress of, 32-41, 43, 
62, 63, 100, 123, 155, 175, 200, 222, 223 ; 
literature, 6o, 78, 81, 82, 83, 91, 94, 97, 
114, 115. 117. 120, 137, 138, 139, 140, 
141, 143, 144, 146, 147, 149, 152, 169, 
J 79> x 93. 197. 2I 7. 220 ; Iliad, 112-116 ; 
Bible translated into, 166 ; ceased to 
be a writtten language, 203, 204, 205 ; 
spelling phonetic, 147, 148 ; spelling 
altered by the Danes to Dano-Saxon, 

179, 180 ; spelling disfigured by Orr- 
min, 207, 208, 233 ; dialect, 223 ; num- 
ber of words therein, 224; words ob- 
solete, 223 ; appreciated by modern 
scholars, in, 113, 114, 224, 417, 461 ; 
ingenuity in mental arithmetic, 109 ; 
enterprise and commerce, 146, 161, 
166, 167; jewelry, styled " Opera 
Anglica," famous all over Europe, 
131, 230 ; missionaries, 101, 102, 103, 
123 

Anglo-Saxons and Franks or French 
harmonious, 43, 44-45- 48, 49- 5°. 5". 
72, 77, 85, 86, 101, 102, 103, no, 123, 
125, 129, 130, 132, 133, 162, 164, 165, 

180, 1S1 ; till alienated by Norman 
• and Plantagenet ambition, 181-188, 

258, 259, 260 ; Christianity among the, 

45- 44" 45- 5°- 5i 
Animal utterance, 51, 52 
An intellectual prodigy, 414 
Anna Comnena, 213 
Anna, Apostle of the Russians, 177, 522, 

55° 
Anscarius, Apostle oi the North, 159, 

176 
Anthemius, 68 

A philosophic language, 415, 416 
Apostrophe to Language, by Bilder- 

dijk, 501 
Appleton's Journal, 646, 662 
April 25th, 1564, 407 
Ar (linguistic root meaning earth or 

land}, 7 
Ar — ar — at (land, land ahead), 612 
Arabian figures, 175 ; literature, 69, 103, 

160, 178, 211, 214 
Arabic words in English, 214 
Aramaic or Syriac in English, 609 
Arandhati, 517 
Architectural vocabulary, 86, 90, 163, 

191, 230, 353, 398, 399, 401, 417, 499 
Argus, Melbourne, Australia, 646, 662, 

678 
Aria, 32, 35 

Arian languages, their origin, 32-35 
Arian Code, 59 

Arians (farmers), 32 ; in Germany, 34 
Ariavarta, 32 
Ario-Japhetic languages, their origin, 

4- 5- 32. 33< 34. 35. 3^3 
Ariosto, 350 



Aristotle's works sent to Western Eu- 
rope, 238, 239 

Arne, Doctor, 449 

Array of great German minds, 502 

Art's vocabulary, 398, 399, 400 

Arundel, Countess, 313 

Ascham, 348 

Asiatic Empire of England, 314, 676, 
677 

Asser, 131, 132, 134, 135, 162, 163, 165, 
r.66 

Astor Library, 307, 308, 330, 436 

Astronomic vocabulary, 57, 85, 109, 238, 
241, 316, 344, 359, 360, 361, 414, 415, 
420, 423, 462, 500, 501, 519, 520 

Athelstan, 150, 166, 176 

Attila, 26 

Auckland, 678, 679 

Audubon, 498 

Aught, final, its origin, 280, 385, 391 

Augustine, Apostle of the Anglo-Sax- 
ons, 47, 72 ; and the forty monks at 
King Ethelbert's court, 50, 51 

Australia, 678, 684 

Authors of Anglo-Saxon Period, 226 ; 
Franco-English Period, 376 ; English 
Period, 638, 639 

Authors' styles and vocabularies com- 
pared, 657-664 

Average origin of the words in Walker's 
and Noah Webster's Dictionaries, 
610, 611 

Avenzoar, 211 

Averrhoes, 211 

Babel (confusion of language), 612 

Bacon, Lord, 410, 412 

Roger, 28, 233, 234, 236, 424 

Balbi, 7, 505 

Bancroft, Geo., 650, 661, 662 

Hubert H., 35, 313, 654, 655 

Barbarians, Goths and Vandals be- 
came Europe's reformers, 26, 27 

Barbour, John, 261 

Barometer, 429 

Barnes' Educational Monthly, 642, 662 

Bassi, Maria, 520 

Beaumont and Fletcher, 411 

Bede, 23, 29, 30, 51, 59, 71, 73, 76, 78, 
84, 85, 87, 101, 102, 105, 109, 130, 133, 
204 

Beginning of protesting, 215 

Behaim, 311 

Behn Aphra, 415, 660, 664 

Belzoni, Madam, 588 

Benjamin of Tudela, 211 

Benedictines, 88, 89, 216 

Beowulf, 112-116, 216, 460 

Berg, phiiotherist, 455, 519 

Berkeley, Bishop, 468, 470, 651 

Bertha, Apostle of the Anglo-Saxons, 
43- 44. 45, 5°. 5i. 72, 75- 522, 550 

Berzelius, 499 

Bible translated into Anglo-Saxon, 166; 
into English, 406, 407 ; into Franco- 



Index. 



691 



English, 265, 299, 341 ; into Gothic, 

25, 36 ; Bible, polyglot, 337 
Bilderdijk, Holland's eminent bard, 501 

Katharina, 520, 521 

Bill of Rights, 418, 440, 441 

Bird's-eye views of the nine styles of 

writing, 642-657 
Biscop, Benedict, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, no, 

130 
Blackstone, 235, 480, 481, 639, 648 
Blavatsky, Countess, 337, 502, 654, 661 
Boadicea, Queen, 16 
Boccaccio, 268 
Bodleian Library, 58 
Boethius, 133, 178 
Boileau, 425 

Bombay Indian Spectator, 646, 662 
Bonaparte, Prince L. L., 463 
Boniface ( Win/rid), Apostle of Ger- 
many, 123, 124, 157 
Books, 58, 85, 263 ; scarcity of, 108, 214, 

377. 378 
Bopp, 502 
Bossuet, 425 

Boston Daily Globe, 646, 661 
Boston News Letter, 646 
Botanic vocabulary, 243, 352, 359, 426, 

464, 613 
Bowditch, N., 501 
Boyle, Robert, 422 
Brian Boru, King, 168 
Bret Harte, 649, 661 
Bright, John, 648 

British Isles attracted the world's at- 
tention, 15-21, 30, 43, 44-59, 65, 66, 

71, 72, yj, 84, 101, 102, 103 
Brompton, 262 

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 646, 661 
Brooks, James, 648, 661 
Brougham, Lord, 648 
Brown, Rev. N., 645 
Brunehaut, Queen, 44, 48, 49, 50, 76 
Bruys, Pierre de, 214, 508 
Bryant, Wm. C., 628, 629, 630, 631, 634, 

6 35- 636, 650, 651, 660, 683 
Buckle, 650 
Buffon's rich vocabulary of the natural 

sciences, 462 
Bulwer, 652 

Bunsen, Baron von, 653 
Bunvan, 412, 413, 454 
Burke, 648 
Burnet, Bishop, 418 
Burning for heresy by Catholics, 215, 

301, 341 ; by Protestants, 344, 345 
Burnouf, 35 

Burton, Robert, 412, 434, 435, 569 
Butler's Hudibras, 422 
Byron, 435, 460, 526, 527, 624, 625, 639, 

679 

Cable, Atlantic, 508-512 
Cabot, 314, 338 
Caedmon, 80, 83, 91, 130, 156 
Calcutta Journal, 646, 660 



Calderon, De la Barca, 428 

Calendar, Roman, 43, 55, 56, 57 ; 

changed, 351, 365 
Calhoun, John C, 648 
Calvin, 339, 345 
Cambridge University, jg, 163, 190, 301, 

338- 343 

Camden, 89 

Camera-obscura, 234 

Camoens, 350, 351 

Candolle, de, 680 

Canute, 180 

Cape Colony, 684 

Capital against labor, 469, 513-516 

Caractacus (Caradoc) King, 16 

Caribert, King, 43, 44, 45 

Carlyle, Thomas, 103 

Cassiterides, 16 

Casivellaunus, King, 16 

Castle of the Heavens, 360, 361 

Cathedral of Coventry, 399 

Catholic Review, 645 

Caxton, William, 306-309, 330, 331 

Celtic dialects waning and dying, 227, 

253. 2 S4. 442, 463 
Celtic in Anglo-Saxon, 223, 226 ; in 

Franco-English, 275 >' in English, 610 ; 

wit, 159 
Celts, self-reliant, 20, 21, 50 
Census by Alfred the Great, 133 ; by 

William the Conqueror, 189, 190, 191 
Ceolfrid, 87 
Certain styles demand more or less 

Greco-Latin, 670 
Cervantes, 397, 428 
Cesar, 16, 21, in 
Cesnola, 35 
Champollion, 35, 505 
Change of vocabulary according to 

subjects, 623, 636, 668, 669, 670 ; ac- 
cording to styles, 641-657, 668, 669, 

670 
Channing, W. E., 644 
Chapin, Rev. E. H., 644, 660 
Charles Martel, 101, 127 

the Bald, 130, 155, 157 

the Simple, 165 

V., Emperor, on languages, 313 

Charlemagne, 101, 123, 125, 127, 129; 

his dialect, 125 
Chaucer, n, 269-282, 294, 295, 397 
Chaucerian Era, 299 
Cheke, Sir John, 343 
Chemic vocabulary, 127, 233, 342, 465, 

469, 499. 613 
Chicago Tribune, 646, 662 
China, 178, 240 
Christian Era, or Gregorian Calendar, 

57. 465 
Christianity introduced into Britain, 

16 ; into Ireland, 21 ; into Kent, 43 ; 

into Scotland, 21 
Christina of Sweden, 428 
Christian topography, 68 
Christ's Ethics, their influence on Ian- 



692 



Index, 



guage, 36, 43, 69, 70, 90, 339, 340, 

342, 464, 490, 508, 517 

Ciaran, Saint, 64 

Cincinnati Commercial, 646 

Cirencester, 268, 269 

Clarke, Mrs. Cowden, 11, 410 

Classification of languages, its basis, 

4, 5 
Claudia, 16, 17 
Claudius, 16 

Clergyman's Magazine, London, 644 
Clinton, De Witt, 498 
Clotilda, Apostle of the Franks, 25, 

522, 550 
Code of honor, 111 
Coifi, his speech, 78 
Coins, 79 
Coleridge, 589 
College at Rome, Anglo-Saxon, 116, 

161 
Columbus, Christopher, 311, 312 
Columbia College, 226 
Combe, George, 499 
Communistic vocabulary ', 455, 469, 513- 

516 
Consent, government by, 138, 456-459, 

478, 479 
Consonants, interchangeable, 40 
Cook, Captain, 678, 679 
Cooper, J. F., 534, 535, 639 

Peter (Philanthropist), 511 

Copernicus, 28, 344 

Coram, Captain, 455 

Corneille, 425, 428 

Cornish in English, 609 ; died with 

Dorothy Pentreath, 463 
Cornwall, 16, 463 
Cosmas, 68 
Cosmos, 502 

Coxe, Bishop A. C, 644, 661 
Crusades, their influence on language, 

200, 209, 210, 213 
Cunards, 498 

Cuneiform decipherings, 35 
Cuvier, 501 

Dacier, Madame, 340, 426 
Daguerre, 500 

Daily Graphic, New York, 646, 660 
Dana, Richard PL, 347 
Danes, in, 132, 149, 179 
Danish in English, 609 
Dano-Saxon, 130, 179 
Dante, 138, 268 
Darwin, 20, 654, 662 
Davy, Sir Humphrey, 499 
Dawnings of progress, 233 
Day, Murray S., U.S.N. ,'519 
Deaf-mutes taught to read, 454 
Death of a language, A.D. 1778, 463 
Decimal measures and weights, 673 
Declaration of Independence, 138, 456, 

478. 479 
De Foe, Daniel, 411, 412, 652 
De l'Epee, Abbe, 454, 455 



Dentistry, 500 

Disraeli, L, 460 

Descartes, 28, 420 

Destiny of the English language, 673- 

686 
Devotional utterance and language, 

141, 142, 143 
Dialects, number of, 312, 313 
Diaz (navigator), 309 
Dictionaries of Webster and Walker, 

611 ; origin of their words, 611 
Didactic style of writing, 642, 643 ; 

origin of its vocabulary, 656, 657 
Different words from the Fifty English 

Extracts and Tables, 589-609, 610 
Discoveries (geographic), 309-315 
Disharmony between letter and sound, 

its origin, 280, 392, 393, 394 
Divine right, government by, 450, 456, 

458, 459 
Dix, Miss, 519 
Domain of language, 612, 613, 614, 

615 
Dombrowska, Apostle of the Poles, 

177, 522 
Dominicans (Inquisition), 243 
Dooms-day Book, 133, 189 
Dorset, Lord, Father of English Trag- 
edy, 346 
Dr. Schopher's Sta terra, 344 
Drama, its origin, 339, 34S~347 
Draviatic style of writing, 649 ; origin 

of its vocabulary, 656, 657 
Draper, Prof. J. W. , 5, 215, 300, 499, 

562, 563, 639, 650, 659, 661, 662 
Druids (scientific), 21 
Dry den, 350, 360, 426 
Dufferin, Earl, 648, 663, 685 
Du Halde, 449 
Duns Scotus, 242 
Duponceau, 497 
Dutch, in English, 609 ; literature, 239, 

422, 423, 501, 520, 521 ; replaced by 

English, 675, 676, 677 

Eanfleda, A. S. queen, 78 

F. and ee, final, changed into y, 276 

Ebsfieet, 23 

Edburga, mother of Alfred the Great, 
162 

Edda, 125, 189, 216 

Edgeworth, Miss, 547, 652, 661 

Edinburgh Review, 646 

Edison, Prof., 395, 671 

Editha. Queen, 180 

Education among Anglo-Saxons, 58, 
84, 85, 86, 108, 109, no, 137, 212, 
231, 232; in America, 442, 443, 676; 
in England, 212, 255, 301,337, 338; 
in Oceanica, 443 ; the corner-stone 
of social structure, 643 ; incomplete 
without Anglo-Saxon and Franco- 
English, 397 

Edward the Confessor, 180, 193 

the Elder, 163 



Index. 



693 



Edward III., 258, 259, 260 
Edwards, Jonathan, 466, 472, 638 
Edwin, 77, 78, 149 
Egbert, England's first king, 129, 130, 

150 

Bishop, 107, no 

Eginhard, 57, 129, 228 

Eighteenth Century, 445-496 

Eighth Century, 105-128 

Eleutherius, Pope, 17 

Eleventh Century, 179-201 

Elfleda, 143, 176 

Elizabeth, Queen, 348 

Elizabethan Era, 349 

Elmham, 58 

Elstob, Miss, pioneer Anglo-Saxonist, 
461, 520 

Emerson, R. W., 20, 505 

Emma, Pearl of Normandy, 180 

Empress of Japan, highly educated and 
accomplished, 519 

E mute, dropped, 354, 400 

Enactments of Parliament to be issued 
in the vernacular, 241 

Endearment, words of, 33 

England and America, champions of 
freedom, 496, 680 

English Period, 403-686 ; pure, began 
with Shakespeare, James' Version of 
the Bible, and Milton, n, 12, 403, 
406, 407-411, 413, 414; literature, 
403, 406-440, 460, 461, 464, 465-495. 
497. 498, 5°5, 5 J 9. 520-587, 638, 639, 
683, 684 ; accession of expansive 
words, 445-448 ; -speaking popula- 
tions : their character, 15 ; enter- 
prise, 508-512, 673-680 ; resources, 
681, 682 ; higher intellectual develop- 
ment, 684 ; language, 12, 15, 609, 6to, 
611 ; its domain, 612—615 ! extent, 
673-680 

" Equality of mankind," 138, 458 

Erasmus, 343 

Erroneous analysis of English, 664- 
668 

Ethelbert I., 5, 9, n, 44, 45, 49, 51, 59, 
60, 64, 71, 75 

Ethelbert's, A. S. Code, 58, 60, 62; 
deed, 72 

Ethelburga, Apostle of the Northum- 
brians, 77, 116, 522 

Ethelswitha, Alfred's queen, 162 

Ethehverd, Alfred's son, 23, 44, 163, 
164, 165 

Ethelwulph, 130, 136 

Ethelingay, Island, 131 

Etymology of English at a glance, 379, 
380, 381, 382, 384, 446, 447, 448 

Euclid, 215, 216 

Eudoxia, Empress, 517 

Eurmel, Egenolf, Father of News- 
papers, 356 



Eusebius, 17 

Evening Post, New York, 646 
Evolution theory, 418, 419, 420, 421 
Extracts and Tables:* 60-62; 91-93 ; 
94-96 ; 97-99 ; 117-119 ; 120-122 ; 149- 

151 ; 152-154 ; 169-171 ; 172-174 ; 

193-196 ; 197-199 ; 217-219 ; 220, 221 ; 

246, 247 ; 248, 249 ; 250, 251 ; 284, 

285; 286, 287; 288, 289; 290, 291; 

292, 293 ; 294, 295 ; 296, 297 ; 324, 

325 ; 326, 327 ; 328, 329 ; 330, • 331 ; 

332, 333 I 334. 335 : 362, 363 ; 364, 

3°5; 3 66 , 3 6 V, 3 63 - 3 6 9- 370, 37i; 

372, 373 ; 430- 431 ; 432, 433 ; 434, 
435 ; 436, 437 ; 438, 439 ; 440, 44i ; 

470, 471; 472, 473; 474, 475; 476, 
477 ; 478- 479 I 48o, 481 ; 482, 483 ; 
484, 485 ; 486, 487 ; 488, 489 ; 490, 
491 ; 492, 493 ; 494, 495 ; 526, 527 ; 
528, 529 ; 530, 531 ; 532, 533 ; 534, 
535; 536, 53V, 538, 539; 540, 54i; 
542, 543; 544- 545; 546, 547; 548, 
549 ; 550- 55i ; 552, 553 ; 554, 555 ; 
556, 557 1 558, 559 I 56o, 561 ; 562, 

563 ; 564. 565 ; 566, 567 ; 568, 569 ; 

570. 57i; 572, 573; 574> 575; 576, 
577 ; 578, 579 ; 580, 581 ; 582, 583 ; 
584, 585 ; 586, 587 ; 624, 625 ; 626, 
627 ; 628, 629 ; 630, 631 ; 632, 633 

Fabian, Robert, 305 

Faithful, Miss, 519 

Family names, 168 

Faraday, 353, 498 

Fashion's vocabulary, 228, 229 

Father of English Poetry, 270 ; of Eng- 
lish Prose, 265 ; of English Classic 
Drama, 349 ; of Chemistry, 127 ; of 
Dramatic Music, 400 

Fayette, Madame de la, pioneer of 
novel-writers, 426 

Fenelon, 428 

Fergus, I., 21 

Fernham, 243 

Feudalism in England, 353 

Field, Cyrus W., 509, 510, 511, 512 

Rev. H. M., 509 

Fifteenth Century, 301-338 

Fifth Century, 23-28 

Firdousi, 178 

Finn, Magnusen, 126 

First foreign expanse of England's lan- 
guage, 127 

First Hebrew word in English, 226 

First western Protestant, 18-21 

First writing in Anglo-Saxon, 60, 61 

Fiske, Prof. J., 642, 66i, 662 

Flamsteed, 414, 415 

Flemish, 155; earliest writing in, 156; 
in English, 609 

Fleta, treatise on farming, 237 

Fleurs de lis, 131, 258 



* These ninety Extracts and Tables are specimens of English literature from its earliest 
writing, A.D. 597 : fourteen in A.S. period ; 22 in Franco-Eng.; and 54 in Eng. period. 



694 



Index. 



Force, government by, 450, 456, 458, 

459 

" Foreign words " in English, 667 

Foundling asylum, 347, 348, 455 

Fowler, O. S., 499 

Fourteenth Century, 255-300 

France the educator of Europe, 43, 44, 
45, 48, 49, 65, 72, 76, 85, 86, 101, 102, 
103, no, 125, 129, 130, 132, 133, 176, 
180, 182, 183, 208, 212, 213, 236, 425, 
426, 427, 488 

Francic, or Old High German, 104, 124, 
125, 155, 156, 157, 158 ; earliest writing 
in, 124, 125 ; its analogy to Gothic, An- 
glo-Saxon, and Low German, 36, 27', 
Charlemagne's dialect, Latin and 
Celtic, formed French, 125 

Franco-English Period, 233-403 ; fusion 
of Anglo-Saxon and French, n, 233, 
243, 488 ; pioneer, Robert of Glouces- 
ter, 244, 245, 250, 251, 299, 396, 397 ; 
Bible translated into, 265, 266, 341 ; 
Chaucer simplified the A. S. gram- 
mar, 279, 280 ; Chaucer complicated 
A. S. spelling, 280, 308, 309 ; Chaucer 
introduced a French vocabulary, 271- 
280 ; Anglo-Saxon verbs changed into, 
378, 379 ; Anglo-Saxon verbs replaced 
by French, Latin, and Welsh, 382, 
383; French verbs changed into, 380, 
381 ; authors and copyists disfigured 
A. S. spelling, 253, 308, 309, 3&S-39 6 . 
488; English classic education in- 
complete without A. S. and Franco- 
English, 397, 398 ; dialect, 375 ; ob- 
solete words, 375 ; enterprise, 314, 338 

Franklin, Benjamin, 20, 465, 466, 486, 
487, 638, 659, 683 ; his prophecy con- 
cerning the English language, 486 

Sir John, 404, 683 

Franks, 25, 43, 44, 101, 209 

Frederika Bremer, 520 

Freemasons, 398, 523 

French, 14, 180-188, 208, 209, 244, 255, 
272, 277, 486, 488, 667; origin of, 155, 
157. I S8 ; earliest writing in, 157 ; 
Code in England, 182, 183 ; at court 
and in schools, 205 ; in Anglo-Sax- 
on, 223; introduced by Robert of 
Gloucester, 250, 251 ; by Chaucer, 
271-277 ; and other eminent writers, 
389 ; verbs Franco- Anglicized, 380, 
381 ; replace Anglo-Saxon verbs, 282, 
283 ; in Franco-English, 375 ; litera- 
ture, 350, 425, 426, 427, 428, 462, 465, 
500 

Froissart, 264 

Froude, J. A., 650 

Fulton, Robert, 497, 498 

Galaxy of English women, 340, 519, 

520; of Orientalists, 461 
Galileo, 28, 414 
Gall, Apostle of Switzerland, 66, 257; 

phrenologist, 499 



Galvani, 451 

Gamut, 201 

Gargi, 517 

Garments (their names), 229 

Gascoigne, Father of Classic Drama in 
England, 349 

Gazettes, 356 

Geber, Father of Chemistry, 127 

Gellert, 465 

Geoffrey of Monmouth, 49, 50, 65, 68, 
206 

Geographic vocabulary , 68, 145, 146, 178, 
211, 238, 240, 260, 261, 264, 268, 269, 
300, 309, 310, 311, 312, 313, 314, 315, 
366, 404, 449, 505, 506, 519, 643-679 

Geologic vocabulary, 464, 544, 545, 613 

German, formed from Gothic, Old High- 
German or Francic, and Low Ger- 
man, 23, 35-4 1 1 its earliest writings, 
124, 125, 155-158 ; Bible translated 
into, 339, 340 ; literature, 54, 158, 212, 
339- 340, 423. 465, 502, 503, 504, 505 ; 
in English, 609 

Gesenius, 502 

Getae, Goths, Jutes, Scythians, Celts, 
23 > 24, 25 

Gibbon, 27, 146, 283, 490, 491, 638, 650, 
662, 683 

Gilbert, Miss, 519 

Gilbert, W. (on the magnet), 253 

Gildas, 20, 65 

Giralclus, Cambrensis, 206 

Gladstone, 582, 583, 639, 648, 661, 680 

Glasgow Weekly Herald, 646 

Glass windows a luxury, 230 

Goethe, 502, 503 

Gold coined, 267 

Goldsmith, 460 

Gomara, 210 

" Good Husbandrie," 351 

Goths and Vandals, Europe's moral re- 
formers, 25, 26, 27 

Gottheil, G., Rabbi, 644 

Government by consent, 456-459, 478, 
479. 510 ; by Divine right, 450, 456- 
459 ; by force, 456 

Gradual accessions to the Anglo-Saxon 
dialect, 224 

Grammar, 167 

Grant (President), 584, 585, 639, 648 

Greco-Latin in English, 610 ; increas- 
ing, 670 ; -speaking populations, 673 

Greek, 85, 238, 316, 318, 320, 342, 343 ; 
first Greek book printed in England, 
351 ; professorship, 343 

Greenland discovered, 310 

Gregory of Tours, 43 

— — I., Pope, 30, 45, 46, 47, 48, 57, 59, 
71, 72, 76 

Grimm, Jacob, 11, 125, 377 

Guericke, 423 
I Gnido of Arczzo, 200 
! Guisaunt, William, 267 
i Guizot, 382 
I Gun powder, 258 



Index. 



695 



Gutta-percha, 510 

Gwen Llyan, Welsh heroine, 209 

Hahnemann, 499 

Hakluyt, 264 

Hale, Mrs., 550, 551, 639 

Hallam, 177, 271, 283, 425, 445, 610 

Halleck, Fitz-Green, 524 

Halley, 429 

Hammer, Baron von, 35 

Hardicanute, 180 

Harold, 181 

Haroun al Raschid, 160 

Harper's Monthly Magazine, 646, 661 

Hart, John, 353, 396 

Harvard University, 13, 442 

Harvey, 413 

Hawaiian Gazette, Sandwich Islands, 

646 
Hawthorne, 652 
Hebrew in English, 609 ; Leader, New 

York, 645 ; first Hebrew book printed 

in England, 351 ; professorship, 343 
Helena, Apostle of the Romans, 72, 521, 

522, 550 
Heliand, 155, 156 
Hemans, Mrs., 530, 531, 651, 683 
Hengist, 23, 24, 31, 44 
Henry d'Avranches, first poet-laureate, 

241 

of Huntingdon, 206 

VIII., 74, 339, 340 

Heptarchy, 31, 58, 116, 129, 149 
Herald, New York, 358, 576, 577, 639, 

646, 658, 659, 663, 664, 678 
Herodotus, 7, 23, 25, 29, 30, 31, 34 
Herschel, Sir William, 420, 462 

Miss C. L., 462, 463, 519 

Hickes, 80, 133 

Higden's Polychronicon, 255, 264 
Hieroglyphics, 463 
Hilda, abbess, 80, 84 
Historian and philologist, 637 
Historic style of writing, 650 ; origin of 

its vocabulary, 656, 657, 663 
Hitchcock, Prof., 544, 545, 639 
Hofer, Dr. 103, 127 
Hoffman, Hon. John, 654 
Hogarth, 462 
Holty, 365 
Home Journal, New York, 633, 635, 

646, 647, 660 
Homeopathic vocabulary, 499 
Honour, 274, 275, 354 
Home Tooke, 614, 622 
Horrox, 414, 683 
Horsa, 23, 44 

Houses of the Anglo-Saxons, 230 
Hoveden, 206 
Howard, John, 455 
Howe, Dr. S. G., 513 
Huguenots, 360, 378 
Humboldt, 7, 312, 404, 421, 502 
Hume, 23, 78, 130, 300, 476, 477, 499, 

638, 650, 658, 659, 683 



Hunt, Wilson G., 512 
Huss, John, 301, 508 
Huttonian Theory, 464 
Huxley, Prof., '20, 642, 661, 663 
Huygens, 422, 423 

Icelandic in English, 609 

le, final, changed into y, 276, 277, 280, 

354 
Ight x final, its origin, 280, 388 
Illuminated books, 400 
Immortality, in, 462, 506 
rmportance of adapting letter to sound in 

English, 12, 13, 385, 386, 390, 391, 

396, 635, 680, 681, 686 
Important socio-legal measures, 241 
Ina's A. S. Code, 111, 116, 117, 119 ; A. 

S. College at Rome, 127 
India, 131, 145, 161 ; its eminent wo- 
men, 517, 518, 519 
Infinitives, Anglo-Saxon, changed into 

English, 379, 383 ; French changed 

into English, 380, 381, 383 ; Latin 

changed into English, 448 
Ing, final, its origin, 280 
Ingoberga, 44 
Ingulphus, 180, 191 
Inquisition, 243 
Intrinsic merits of the English language, 

15, 685, 686 
Introduction, 9-21 
lorn, 421, 507 
Iona Island, 66 
Ireland, 168, 227 
Irish in English, 609 ; literature, 64, 

124, 159, 168, 227, 228 
Irish missionaries, 66 
Irving, W., 103, 538, 539, 638, 650, 658 
Isabella of Spain, 311 
Isidore of Seville, 103, 104 
Italian in English, 609 ; literature, 268, 

315. 3*7, 343. 35o. 359. 414, 499 

J, introduced into the Roman alpha- 
bet, 359, 360 
James I. of Scotland, 303 
Jansen, Zacharias, 359 
Japanese, 396, 416, 519 
Jarrow, 89, 105 
Jengis Khan, 240 
Jerome, St., 42 
Jesus College, Oxford, 338 
Jewish Schools, 205 
Jews, 205, 2ii, 242 
Joan of Arc, 503 
Johnson, Sam., 293, 412, 464 
Johnson, Miss. V. W. , 652, 660 
Jones, Sir William, 35, 103, 178 
Jonson, Ben, 409 
Josephus, 7, 34, 42 
Journalism, 354, 359, 646, 647 
Judah, Aben, Prince of Translators, 240 
Judith, Queen, 130 
Justice of Alfred the Great, 134, 135 
Justinian, his code, 67, 68. 



696 



hidex. 



Jutes, Scythians, Getae, Goths, 23, 24, 
31, 113, 144 

Kaab, 103 

Kamamalu, Queen, Apostle of the 

Sandwich Islanders, 522, 550, 551 
Kant, 142, 420, 421 
Katharine I. of Russia, 463 
Kemble, 82, 113 
Kent, 31, 44, 50 
Kepler, 423, 428 

Kiddle, Henry, 572, 573, 642, 662 
Kindred (words of), 33 
Klopstock, 505 
Knighton (chronicler), 262 
Koran, 407 

La Bruyere, 397 

Lafontaine, 425 

Langland, 262, 288, 289 

Langtoft, 243 

Langton, Archbishop, 236 

Language, see Dedication page ; its 
origin, 32, 33, 34, 312, 313 ; its vast 
domain, 612-615, 673 ; philosophic, 
415, 416, 417 ; English, 15, 609, 610, 
611 ; universal, 686 

Languages, number of, 7, 312, 313 

Laplace, 501 

Latin, 159, 208, 224, 445, 446, 447, 486 ; 
expansive words in English, 445, 446, 

447 

Lavoisier, 465 

Layamon, 238 

Leabhar nah-Uidhei, 64 

Legal vocabulary , itsprogi-ess, 72, 73, &7> 
180, 182, 183, 205, 235, 236, 237, 301, 
370, 380, 440, 441, 480, 481, 484, 485 ; 
its origin, 648, 656, 657, 663 

Leibnitz, 28, 420, 423, 428, 464 

Lesseps, M. de, 509 

Lester, C. Edwards, 451, 650 

Leverrier, 500 

Libussa, Queen of Bohemia, 27, 522 

Liebig, 499 

Lily, W. , 342 

Limborch, van, 244 

Linguistic facts, 669, 670 ; incongrui- 
ties, their origin, 278, 279, 385-396, 
488 ; laws immutable, 416, 417 

Linus, Lleyn, Pope, 16, 17 

Lippincott's Magazine, Philadelphia, 
646 

Literary Women, English, 340, 341, 
503 ; French, 426 

Literature, English, its richness, 683, 684 

Livingstone, 683, 685 

Llorente, on the Inquisition, 244 

Locke, 412 

Lollards or Wickliffites, 265, 266 

London Times, 574, 575, 627, 639, 646, 
651, 659, 660 , 662 

Longfellow, 8o, 82, 113, 114, 554, 555, 
626, 627, 634, 635, 636, 639, 659, 660, 
683 



Lope de Vega, 428 

Lord's Prayer, a linguistic point of 
comparison, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 

4i 
Lothair and Edric's A. S. Code, 94, 

95, 96 
Low, A. A., 511 
Lowell, poet, 683 
Low German, or Old Saxon, 37, 155, 

156 
Lucius, King, 18 
Luidhard, Bishop, 45, 77 
Luther, Father of German Language, 

339, 340, 508 
Lydgate, John, 304, 326, 327 
Lyell, Sir Charles, 11, 498 

Ma, 32, 33, 34 
Macaulay, 35, 412, 439, 456 
Macintosh, Sir James, 662 
McCloskey, Cardinal, 644, 660 
Madden, Sir F., 238 
Madoc, Prince, 210, 310 
Maerland, Father of the Flemish Lan- 
guage, 239 
Mackam, 300 
Magna Charta, 235, 236 
Magdalen College, Oxford, 338 
Macpherson, James, 64 
Madison, James, 648 
Magellan, 311 
Magnet, 28, 353 
Magnetism (mental and material), 65, 

69, 138, 139, 146, 314, 353, 429, 671, 

672 
Magneto-electric vocabulary, 342, 353, 

465, 466 
Magnifying glasses, 233, 334, 335 
Mahomet, 103, 316, 319 
Malala's Chronicle, 67 
Malthus, 513, 515 
Mandeville, Sir John, 260 290, 291 
Manning, Robert, 243, 284, 285, 397 
Mannus, 34 
Manu, 32 

Mapes, Walter, 209 
Marbeck, 400 
Marco Polo, 238 

Margaret, Semiramis of the North, 302 
Maries, 516, 517 
Mariotte's law, 426 
Marsh, G. P., 13, 14, 223, 289, 295, 558, 

559, 622, 662, 667 
Martha, French, 521 
Martyrs to science and progress, 500 
Masora, 395 

Matilda, Princess, 164, 176 
Mathcmatic vocabulary, 56, 85, 89, 109, 

267, 315 
Matthew of Westminster, 116 
Matthew, Paris, 242, 243 
Max Muller, Prof., 7, 15, 162, 509, 566, 

567, 639, 642, 661, 663 
Mechanic vocabulary, 315, 316, 417, 464, 

497 



Index. 



697 



Medical vocabulary, 68, 85, 90, 231,245, 

267, 306, 342, 663 
Melbourne, 678 
Memnon, young, 588 
Mermaid Tavern, 411 
Mesrob, 70 
Ale tap hy sic vocabulary, 505, 506, 507, 

508 
Military vocabulary, 163, 182, 258, 426, 

55 2 » 553 I service in different coun- 
tries, 682 
Milton, 11, 12, 413, 414, 436, 437, 638, 

651, 658, 659, 660, 683 
Mineralogic vocabulary , 613 
Minnesangers, 200 
Mirabeau on Franklin, 465 
Miscellaneous style of writing, 454 ; 

origin of its vocabulary, 656, 657 
Mitchel, O , 573 
Mitchell, Miss, 520, 521, 683 
Moelmuiri, 64 
Moliere, 425, 428 
Monboddo, Lord, 461 
Mongolians or Tartars, 240 
Montesquieu, 462 
Montfaucon, 68 

Montreal Gazette, 646, 661, 662 
Moody and Sankey, 644 
Morse, S. F. B., 353, 498, 509, 683 
Moses, earliest philologist, 42, 612, 613, 

686 
Miihlbach, 520 
Mulcaster, 368, 571 
Mundinus, 258 
Alusical vocabulary, 43, S7> 85, 89, 106, 

109, 200, 201, 230, 231, 257, 400, 427, 

449 

Mythical, 35, 225. 



N, final, dropped from Anglo-Saxon 

words, 179 
Names indicate language, nation, race, 

184, 187, 613; words derived from, 

451, 613, 614 
Napoleon abolished the Inquisition, 

244 
National Republican, Washington, 

D. C, 646 
Naval vocabulary, 146, 166, 167, 230, 

258, 401 
Neckham, 210 
Nemesius, Bishop, 28 
New England, 31, 405, 442, 443. 676 
New Era, Monrovia, Liberia, 646 
New Orleans Times, 646, 661 
News letters, origin of, 355 
Newspapers, their origin, 354-359 ; 

style, 646, 647, 656 ; statistics of, 357, 

358 ; style and origin of vocabulary, 

646, 647, 656, 657, 663 ; their influence 

and duty, 358, 647 
Newton, 20, 28, 423, 424 
New York Churchman, 645 
Evangelist, 645 



New Zealand Herald, Aukland, 646, 

663, 678, 679, 683 
Nicholas de Lima, 264 
Nibelungen, 189, 216 
Nine styles of writing, origin of their 
vocabularies, 641-657 
I Nineteenth Century, 497-686 
1 Ninth Century, 129-161 
I Nithard, grandson of Charlemagne, 

155 
J Nightingale, Miss, 519 
I " Nitrous-oxyd gas," 500 
I Nouns, English, 616 
I Number ot words in Anglo-Saxon, 224 ; 

in English, 611-615 ; languages, 7, 

312 ; dialects, 312, 313 

Observatories, 360 

Observer, The New York, 646, 647, 
661, 662, 663 

Obsolete Anglo-Saxon words, percent- 
age of, 223, 224, 382, 383 ; Greco- 
Latin words, percentage of, 223 

Occleve, 320, 323 

Ockham, 264 

Okamites, 264 

October, 26, A.D. 901, a most useful 
career, 146 

O'Curry. E. , 228 

Ode to Language, by J. L. Weisse, 
636, 637 ; to Memory, by Tennyson, 
580; to Woman, by Fitz-Green Hal- 
leck, 524 

Odin or Woden, 44, 78 

Offa, King, no, 116, 121, 129, 150 

Ohthere, 146, 161, 167 
I Olga, Russian princess, 177 
I Oliphant, 105, 113, 271, 275, 323, 667 
I One and the same author used differ- 
ent vocabularies, 623-636 

One and the same word is noun, ad- 
jective, and verb, 272, 273 

Oneness of language, 613, 686 

Oppert, 35 

Optic vocabulary, 234, 359, 500 

Ordericus Vitalis, 182, 206, 207 

Oriental literature, 178, 240, 502 

Origin of the English language, 609, 
610, 611 ; Anglo-Saxon dialect, 223 ; 
Franco-English dialect, 375 ; three 
periods compared, 671, 672 

Orosius, 20, 133 

Orrmin's spelling, 207, 208, 233, 392 

Orthographic improvement, 109, 167 

Orudunoi, 644 

Osgood, Rev. S., 644 

Ossian, 6a, 65 

Otfrid, 156, 158, 166 

Otho von Freisingen, 212, 213 

Ou in English words, its origin, 253. 
274, 275, 280 

Ough in English, 285, 354, 385, 386, 
388, 389, 391, 392, 393 , 394 

O/iifkt in English, its origin, 280, 38^, 
388, 39i 



698 



Index. 



Ow in English, 385, 386, 388 

Oxenden, Ashton, Archbishop of Cana- 
da, 644, 660 

Oxford, 13, 190, 226, 229, 231, 261, 301, 
449 

Pa, 32, 33, 34 

Paccioli, 315 

Pacific Railroad, 512 

Paine, Thomas, 20, 138 

Painter's vocabulary, 87, 89, 399, 462 

Pali, 463 

Palladius, 21 

Palmerston, Lord, 648 

Pandects, 67, 87 

Paracelsus, 342 

Paris University, 211, 212, 213 

Particles, 12, 61, 294, 406, 430, 589, 
615, 620-623, 638-641, 659, 663, 668- 
670 

Pascal, 426, 445 

Patrick, St., 21 

Patrologiae, 45 

Patronymic vocabulary, 451 

Paul, St., 16, 17 

Peacock, Bishop, 305, 324, 325 

Pelagius, 18, 19, 20 

Penmanship, 109, 167, 229 

Penn, William, 405 

Pentateuch, 7, 613 

Pentreath, Dorothy, with whom died 
the Cornish dialect, 463 

Percentages, showing the origin of the 
Anglo-Saxon dialect, 223 ; of Franco- 
English dialect, 375 ; of English lan- 
guage, 609, 610, 611 ; of English 
nouns, 616 ; verbs, 617 ; of adjectives, 
618 ; of adverbs, 619 ; of particles, 
620 ; showing the ultimate different 
words in English literature, 641 ; 
the repetitions in English literature, 
641 ; obsolete Anglo-Saxon words, 
223, 224 

Pepin, 101, 123 

Perpetuity of language, 69, 670, 671 

Persian words in Gotho-Germanic lan- 
guages, 35 

Peter the Great, 357, 450 

Petrobrusians, early Protestants, 214 

Pertz, 101 

Philadelphia Ledger, 646, 663 

Press, 646, 662 

Philanthropic vocabulary, 454, 455, 513, 
518, 519, 521 

Phillips (Milton's nephew), 425, 427, 

Philips, Catharine, 425 

Philologic -vocabulary , 32-41, 42, 43, 103, 
104, 147, 148, 214, 271-280, 353, 368, 
379-3 8 4. 393- 445-448, 5 OI > I02, 609, 
612, 613, 614, 638, 639, 686 

Philologist and historian, 637 

Philosophic language, 415, 416 

Philosophic vocabulary, 108, 133, 139, 
140, 141, 241, 312, 313, 418-421 

Phonetizing English, 147, 148, 201, 253, 



280, 353, 354, 359, 360, 385-396, 486, 
488 ; its importance, 12, 13, 386, 390, 
391, 655, 686 

Phonographic rule, 12, 13 

Photius, 160 

Phrenologic vocabzilary, 499 

Physiologic vocabulary, 28, 241, 242, 
266, 267, 342, 413 

Pitcairn's Island, 679 

Pitman's Alphabet, 396 

Placidia, Apostle of the Goths, 522 

Planet discovered by pure mathemat- 
ics, 500, 501 

Plantagenets, 258, 259, 260 

Plegmund, 111 

Plymouth Rock, 405, 521 

Pocahontas, 405 

Poema del Cid, 211 

Poet laureate (First), 241 

Poetic style of writing, 651 ; origin of 
its vocabulary, 656, 657, 663 

Political economy, 469, 513-516 

Politico-legal style of writing, 648 ; 
origin of its vocabulary, 656, 657 

Polyglot Bibles, 337 

Pope, poet, 424, 427, 460, 474, 475, 638, 
651, 659, 660 

Popol Vuh, 7 

Porta, Batista, 359 

Port Elisabeth Telegraph, Cape Col- 
ony, Africa, 646, 662 

Portuguese in English, 609 ; enterprise, 
314 ; literature, 309, 310, 350, .351, 

50S 

Postal service, its origin, 306 

statistics, 684 

Potato, 352 

Potter, Rev. Henry C, 644 

Preface, 5-8 

Prescott, W\, 540, 541, 639, 650, 659, 
662, 683 

Press, the, its origin, 354-359, 579, 646, 
647. 656, 657 

Priestley, 499 

Primitive Arian words, 32-35 

Princeton College, 442 

Printing, 178, 302, 307, 308 

Procopius, 67 

Proctor, Professor, 642, 663 

Progress of the Anglo-Saxon dialect, 
43, 60, 61, 62, 63, 100, 123, 155, 175, 
200, 222, 223 ; Franco-English, 252, 
298, 33 6 > 374. 375 ; Anglo-Saxon, 
Franco-English, and English, 43, 51, 
62, 63, 223, 375, 377, 610 — litera- 
ture, 60, 61, 226, 376, 638, 639 

Prolixity in English literature, 641 

Provincialisms, 385-396, 488 

Psychologic vocabulary, 28, 451-454, 
506 

Ptolemy, 23, 24 

Pudens, 16, 17 

Pure English, 403, 496 

Puritans or Pilgrims, 405, 442, 443, C21, 
676 



Index. 



699 



Queen Theodelinda and Charlemagne, 
set the fashions, 228, 229 

Rabelais, 350 

Racine, 425, 428 

Rahman, Abder, 126, 127 

Raleigh, Sir Walter, 349 

Ramist letters, J and V, 359, 360 

Rapp, Dr. K. M., see title-page. 

Rationalism, 508 

Rawlinson, 7, 35 

Reformers, 27, 214, 215, 262, 264, 265, 

266, 301, 339, 341, 405, 462 
Regions of Beatitude, 32 
Relationship of languages, 33, 39> 4°» 

41, 3 12 - 3*3 
Remarks on Franco-English authors, 

30, 397, 393 
Renan, 7 
Repetitious, 12, 61, 227, 294, 430, 589, 

623, 638-641, 658, 659, 668-670 
Resources of the English-speaking 

populations at a glance, 681 , 682, 683 
Retrospect of the fourteenth century, 

671 ; seventeenth century, 428 
Richter, Jean Paul, 614 
Ricola, A. S. princess, 78 
" Rise of Woman," 461 
Robert Curthose, 191 
of Gloucester, 24, 244, 245, 250, 

251, 299, 396 

Dale Owen, 556, 557, 639, 654 

Roberts, Marshall O., 512 

Robertson, Bishop of Missouri, 644, 

661 
Rollin, 27 

" Roll of Battel Abbeie," 184-187 
Roman letters, 54, 55, 359, 360, 407, 

416, 433 ; numbers, 56, 70 
Romantic style of writing, 652 ; origin 

of its vocabulary, 656, 657 
Rothschild, 677 
Ronsard, 350 

Round Table, London, 635 
Rousseau, J. J., 455, 513 
Rowena, 24, 44 
Royal Society, London, 421 
Rubruquis, missionary, 240 
Runes, 35, 55, 82, 126 
Russia, 215, 312, 422, 450 
Russian in English, 609 ; replaced by 

English, 675 
Ruthwell Cross, 81 
Ryhan, Aboo, 178 

Sacred style of writing, 644, 645 ; ori- 
gin of its vocabulary, 656, 657 

Saemund, 125 

Saint Louis Globe-Democrat, 646 

Saltair of Tara, 64, 69 

Salvinn, 26, 515 

San Francisco Daily Morning Call, 646, 
661 

Sanscrit, 24, 34, 461, 463 

Saracens, 126, 127, 176, 178 



Sarahs, 521 
Sargent, Epes, 649 

Saxon Chronicle, 111, 112, 133, 144, 145 
Saxons, SacLns, Sakas, Sakars, Scyth- 
ians, 24, 25, 31 
Schiller, 503, 504 
Schism, between E. and W. Churches, 

160 
Schleicher, 7, 35 
Schliemann, 35 
Scholars, English and American, slow 

to appreciate their language, 672, 673 
Schools and Colleges established, 301 
Schurmann, Anna H., 340 
Science attributed to Satan, 234, 244, 

262 
Scientific American, New York, 646 
Sclavonic peoples, 319 
Scoloti, Scoti, Scots, Celts, Scythians, 

23, 24, 25, 282, 283 
Scotch in English, 609 ; or Gaelic, 64, 

65, 442 
Scotland, 442 
Scots, 21, 23 

Scot, Sir Michael, 241, 242 
Scot, Sir Walter, 528, 529, 639, 652, 664 
Scotus, John, or Erigena, 159 
Scriptures translated, 36, 69, 70, 166, 

265, 301, 339, 341, 39s, 396, 406, 430, 

43i 
Scythians, Sacians, Getae, Jutes, 

Goths, 23, 24, 25, 34, 282, 283 
Scytho - Gotho - Germanic languages, 

their origin, 4, 5, 32-41 ; their earliest 

writings, 36, 37, 155, 156, 157, 158 
Septuagint, 42 
Serfdom abolished, 450 
Servetus, Michael, 344, 345 
Seven Liberal Sciences, 109 
Seventeenth Century, 403-443 
Seventh Century, 71-104 
Sevigne, Madame de, 426 
Seward, William H., 648 
Seymour, Horatio, 560, 561, 639, 648 
Shakespeare, 9, 11, 407-411, 432, 433, 

638 
Sharon Turner, 9, 63, 113, 223, 224, 662 ; 

his defective method of analyzing 

English, 664-668 
Shaw, J. B., 542, 612, 639 
Sheridan, 460 
Ships, Anglo-Saxon, 230 
Sidney, Sir Philip, 346 
Sighelm, 131, 145, 161 
Sinding, 212 

Sixteenth Century, 339-401 
Sixth Century, 29-70 
Skalds, 126, 200 
Skinner, Stephen, 277 
Smithsonian Institute, 421 
Socialistic vocabulary, 455, 469, 513-516 
Sociology, 613 
Somerville, Mrs., 521, 546, 547, 639, 654, 

659 
Sophia, St., Church of, 63 



700 



Index. 



Sources of English drama, romance, 
allegory, and fiction, 206 

Southey, 210 

Spanish in English, 609 ; literature, 
103, 104, 160, 210, 211, 2,37, 4 2 8, 505; 
replaced by English, 674, 675 

Spelling, English, 12, 201, 253, 385-396 

Spenser, 206, 349, 350, 372, 273< 629 

Spiritualism, 505-508 

Spiritual vocabulary, 506 

Spurzheim, 499 

Spurgeon, 644, 660 

Stael, Madame de, 350, 351, 502, 519 

Stanley, explorer, 35, 678, 683, 685 

Statistics, 133, 189, 190, 191, 227, 253, 
254- 312, 357, 358, 442, 674, 675, 676, 
677, 679, 681, 682, 684, 686 

Steam vocabzdary, 417, 464, 497 

Stenographers, 12 

Stephen, King of Hungary, 177 

Stevens, Bishop of Penn, 644, 661 

St. Paul's Cathedral, 78, 417 

Strabo, 7, 16, 34 

Style and vocabulary of fifty English 
authors at a glance, 638, 639. 

Styles of writing (nine) 642-657, 670 ; 
origin of their vocabularies at a 
glance, 656 

Sumner, Charles, 390, 655 

Sun, New York, 646, 662 

Supines, Latin, Anglicized, 445, 446, 
447. 448 

Swedenborg, 451-454 

Swedish in English, 609 

Swinton, 14, 205 

Swiss spirit of independence, 257, 258 

Sylvester II., Pope, 175, 176 

Synopses, showing the origin and prog- 
ress of the English language and 
literature, 63, 100, 123, 155, 175, 200, 
222, 252, 298, 336, 374 ; of the three 
Periods, 223, 224, 226 ; 375, 376 ; 609, 
610, 611 ; 615, 638, 639, 642, 644, 646, 
648, 649, 650, 651, 652, 653, 654, 656, 
674, 675, 676, 677, 678, 679, 681 

Syriac, or Aramaic, in English, 609 

Table of different words from the fifty 
English Extracts and Tables, 590-609 

Tacitus, 7, 16, 29 

Taine, 341 

Tallis, 400 

Tamerlane, 30, 35, 282, 283 

Tanner, J. H., 568, 569, 639 

Tasso, 350 

Taxation in different countries, 682 ; 
without representation, 450, 456, 458, 

459 
Taylor Moses, 512 
Tekchand Thakur, 654, 655, 662 
Telegraphic language, 55, 511, 641 
Telegraph, London Daily, 358, 678 
Tell, William, 252, 257 
Tennyson, 580, 581, 639, 651, 658, 660, 

683 



Tenth Century, 162-178 

"Tenures," Littleton's, 338 

Thanet, island of, 22, 23, 24, 150 

Theatre in America, 347 

The Earth is motionless ! ! ! 344 

The Nation, New York, 646 

Theodelinda, Apostle of the Lom- 
bards, 66, 228, 522, 550 

Theodore, Archbishop, 84, no 

Theodoret, Bishop, 16 

Theofail, 215 

Theologic vocabulary, 36, 37, 41, 42, 51, 
58, 78, 85, ioi, 106, 107, 108, 109, no,. 
138, 139, 140, 141, 210, 211, 214, 233, 
234, 248, 262, 264, 265, 308, 339, 340, 
341- 344, 345. 3 6 2, 406, 407, 418-421, 
505-508, 644, 645, 656, 657, 686 

The southern hemisphere ready for 
higher intellectual development, 685 

The sun never sets on the English- 
speaking populations, 673-682 

The World, New York, 644 

Things thought impossible that are now 
possible, 499, 500 

Thirteenth Century, 233-254 

Thorpe, 80 

Thought an.d ideas as indestructible as 
matter, 670, 671 

Three fundamental principles of human 
government, 456 

Tillotson, 418, 644 

Times, New York, 646, 661 

Timothy, Epistle to, 16 

Tindale, W., 341 

Tithes, 109 

Tombs of two scientists, 499 

Tournefort's Botany, 426 

Transcendentalism, 421, 505 

Trench, 12, 204, 233, 339, 365, 436, 

437 

Trial by jury, 132 ; by ordeal ceased, 
241 

Tribonian, 67 

Tribune, New York Weekly, 578, 579, 
639, 646, 659, 662 

Troubadours, 163, 200 

Tuiston, 34 

Tusser, 351, 352 

Twelfth Century, 203-232 

Two eminent lexicographers, 501 

Tycho Brahe, " Restorer of Astron- 
omy," 361, 414 

Tvndall, Prof., 642, 663 

Tyrwhit, 14 

U, superfluous, dropped from the 

suffix our, 274, 275, 276, 354 
Ulfilas, Apostle of the Goths, 25, 36, 59, 

69 
Ultimate different words from the fifty 

Extracts and Tables, 609, 610, 623 
Uniform measures and weights, 267 
Unitarians, 25, 27 
Universal alphabet, 395, 396, 415, 416 ; 

language, 396, 513, 673, 681, 683, 686 



Index. 



701 



V, introduced into the Roman al- 
phabet, 359 

Vandals, 25, 26 

Valhalla, 111 

Vahniki, 35, 142 

Vanderberg, 310 

Vasco de Garaa, 314 

Vauban, 426 

Vedas, 7 

Vesalius, 342 

Verbs, English, 617 ; forty-five express 
the utterance of 245,000 animal spe- 
cies, 51, 52 

Victoria, Queen and Empress, 5, 395, 
396, 512, 586, 587, 632, 633, 635, 636, 
648, 659, 660, 661, 662, 677, 683 

Victoria version of the Bible, 395, 407 ; 
how it should go forth, 395, 396 

Vincent de Paul, St., 347, 348 

Vista of great intellects, 403 

Vocabulary of scientific words, 108, 109, 
139, 140, 141, 210, 215, 233, 234, 241, 
242, 344, 359, 418, 419, 420, 421, 422, 
423, 424, 462, 500, 505, 519, 520, 663 

Vocabulary of Anglo-Saxon authors 
at a glance, 226 ; of Franco-Eng- 
lish authors at a glance, 376 ; of 
English authors at a glance, 638, 
639 ; of nine styles at a glance, 656 

Voltaire, 462 

Voorhees, W. D., 648, 662 

Yortigern, 23. 24, 44 

Vowel combination, 392 ; and conso- 
nant combination, 15 

Vulgate, 42 

Wace, Robert, 206 

Waldenses, early Protestants, 214 

Wales, 31, 49, 150, 161, 210, 253, 254 

Walker, 203, 386, 501, 611 

Wallingford, Abbot, 57 

Walsingham, 378 

Warton, 113, 179, 188, 262, 349 

Washington, Geo., 466, 467, 494, 495, 

638, 648 
Water-engine, Worcester's, 417 
Watt, James, 464, 497, 683 
Webster, Daniel, 648 

Noah, 12, 611 

Weisse, Mrs. John A., 503, 637, 654, 660 

Wells, Horace, M.D. , 500 

Welsh, 149, 150, 253, 254; in English, 

609 
Wesley, John, 644 
Wharton, 133, 166 



Whitney, Prof. W. D. , 5, 35, 509, 570, 

571, 642, 663 
White, Chandler, 512 
Wickliffe, 20, 262, 265, 266, 299, 300, 

301, 508 
Wi eland, 397 
Wilberl'orce, 14 
Wilbrord, 101, 102, 159 
Wilkins, Bishop, 415, 416 
David, 94, 95, 96, 117, 133, 152, 

153- 154 

William the Conqueror, 112, i8i, 182 

of Malmesbury, 131, 145 

Williams, Roger, 405 

Wiseman, Cardinal, 644 

Wlaclimir, Duke of Russia, 177 

Woman in history and literature, 516- 
525 ; her apostolic and civilizing ca- 
pacities, 260, 521, 522; Ode to, by 
Fitz-Green Halleck, 524 ; Rise of, 
by Parnell, 461 ; taxed without repre- 
sentation, 459, 523 ; uses more Gotho- 
Germanic or Anglo-Saxon, than Gre- 
co-Latin, 664 

"Woman's Record,'" by Mrs. S. J. 
Hale, 550 

"Woman's Words," Philadelphia, 647 

Worcester, Marquis of, 417 

Words, monosyllabic and primitive, 34, 
445 ; dissyllabic, 445 ; polysyllabic, 
445-448 ; of inherent meanings 615- 
619, 621, 623, 639, 640, 641, 670 ; with- 
out inherent meaning, or particles, 
615, 620, 621, 622, 623, 639, 640, 641, 
670 ; of endearment or kindred, 32, 

33-34 
Wordsworth, 623, 651 
World's reading and writing capacities, 

357. 358, 684 
W r ren, Sir Christopher, 417 
Wright, Thomas, 309 
Wufsig, Bishop, 136 

Ximenes, Cardinal, 7, 337 

Yale College, 13, 226, 231, 442 
Youmans, Professor, 642 
Young, Dr., 41 

Zend, 40, 463 

Zendavesta, 7, 32, 59 

Zeno (explorers), 310 

Zoologic vocabulary, 51, 52, 241, 413, 

462, 501, 613 
Zoroaster, 142, 508, 514 



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J. W. Bouton's Catalogue 



New and Recent Publications, 



Importations and Remainders^ 



COMPRISING IMPORTANT AND VALUABLE WORKS IN THE 
FOLLOWING DEPARTMENTS OF LITERATURE : 



Art, Contemporary and 
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Art Periodicals, 

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Old Poetry, 

Phallic and Symbol W01 - 
ship, 

Shakspeariana, 
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Origin, Progress, and Destiny of the 
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mankind." — Extract front Lady Russell's Pre/ace. 

" He has bequeathed to the world a collection of interesting facts for others to' make use of. It is a 
museum of antiquities, relics, and curiosities. All of the religions of the world are here jostling one an- 
other in picturesque confusion, like the figures in a masquerade. 1 '' — Times. 

"This work has more than one claim on the reader's attention. Its intrinsic interest is consider- 
able." — Spectator. 

"No one will fail during its perusal to be deeply interested, and, what is more, powerfully stimu- 
lated to independent thought." — Examiner. 



Polychromatic Ornament. 

IOO PLATES IN GOLD, SILVER, AND COLORS, comprising 
upwards of 2,000 specimens of the styles of Ancient, Orien- 
tal, and Mediceval Art, and including the Renaissance, and 
XVIIth and XVIIIth centuries, selected and arranged for 
practical use by A. Racinet, with Explanatory Text, and a 
general introduction. Folio, cloth, gilt edges. $40.00. 

Monsieur Racinet is well known, both in France and in this country, as the author of the principal 
designs in those magnificent works, " Le Moyen Age et la Renaissance" and "Les Arts Somptu- 
aires.*' He is therefore peculiarly well fitted to grapple with the difficulties of so intricate a subject, 
and it will be found that he has discharged his task in a manner to deserve general approval and ad- 
miration. His happy choice of subjects, all of them taken from originals, his ingenious grouping of 
them in harmonious forms, his wonderful accuracy in drawing, and his perfect fidelity of color are only 
equalled by the profound knowledge which has enabled him to combine so vast a collection in historical 
order, and yet in a classical form. 

Keramic Art of Japan. 

La Ceramique Japonaise. French Edition, traduit 
par M. P. Louiby. Containing Sixty-three Plates (Thirty- 
Jive of which are in Gold and Colors), and nearly 200 
pages of Text, with numerous Wood Engravings printed 
in Colors ; the whole being produced from original Japan- 
ese works of the greatest beauty, and representing the en- 
tire range of Japanese Keramic Art, Ancient and Modern. 
By G. A. AUDSLEY and J. L. BOWES, of Liverpool. Con- 
taining a Comprehensive Introductory Essay upon Japan- 
ese Art in all its various branches, illustrated by thirteen 
Photo-Lithographic and Autotype Plates, and numerous 
Wood Engraving, printed in colors. Also, a concise Dis- 
sertation on Keramic Productions of Japan, from the earli- 
est records up to the present day ; with sectional articles 
on the Pottery and Porcelain of the various provinces of the 
Empire in which manufactories exist, fully illustrated by 
thirty-five plates, superbly printed in full colors and gold, 
and fifteen plates in autotype. To be supplied in 7 parts, 
folio, at $10.00 each. Parts I., II., and III., now ready. 

N. B. — Parts not sold separately. 

No one who has examined the Art productions of Japan can have failed to observe the great beauty 
of the Keramic Wares of the country, and the refined and educated feeling everywhere displayed in 
their decoration. Their general artistic excellence, and the skilful rendering of natural objects they 
usually present, have long commended them to the attention of the artists of Europe — long, indeed, 
before they were sought after by collectors ; and it is not too much to say that many of our well-known 
artists have shown by their works their appreciation of Japanese drawing and coloring. 

The Royal Masonic Cyclopaedia 

Of History, Rites, Symbolism, and Biography. By KEN- 
NETH R. H. Mackenzie, i vol. demy 8vo, cloth (pp. 
768;, $7.00. 

The most complete and valuable work of reference that has ever been presented to the Craft. 

"The task of the Editor has been admirably performed, and there can be no question the work will 
be a valuable addition to every Masonic library." — Freemason's Chronicle. 

"The Editor has lavished much reading and labor on his subject." — Sunday Times. 

" A deeply-learned work for the benefit of Freemasons." — Publishers' Circular. 

"Your new work is excellent." — Hro. VV. R. Woodman, M. D., G.S.B. 

" Evidences a considerable amount of hard work, alike in research and study, . . . and we 
can honestly and sincerely say we wish fraternally all success to the Royal Masonic Cyclopaedia." — 
Freemason. 



Wilson's American Ornithology : 

Or, Natural History of the Birds of the United States : with 
the Continuation by Prince Charles Lucian Bonaparte. New 
and Enlarged Edition, completed by the insertion 
of above One Hundred Birds omitted in the 

Original %VOrfc 9 and illustrated by valuable Notes and a 
life of the Author by Sir William Jardine. Three Vols., 8vo, 
with a Portrait of Wilson, and 103 Plates, exhibiting nearly 
Pour Hundred figures of Birds, accurately engraved and beauti- 
fully colored, cloth extra, gilt top, $18.00. Half smooth morocco, 
gilt top, $20.00. Half morocco extra, gilt top, $25,00. Full tree 
calf extra, gilt or marbled edges, $30.00. 

A few copies have been printed on Large Paper. Imperial 
8vo size, 3 vols., half morocco, gilt top, $40.00. 

One of the cheapest books ever offered to the American public. The old edition, not nearly 
bo complete as the present, has always readily brought from $50.00 to $60.00 per copy. 

" The History of American Birds, by Alexander Wilson, is equal in elegance to the most distin- 
guished of our own splendid works on Ornithology. 1 ' — Cuviek. 

" With an enthusiasm never excelled, this extraordinary man penetrated through the vast ter- 
ritories of the United States, undeterred by forests or swamps, for the sole purpose of describing 
the native birds." — Lord Brougham. 

" By the mere force of native genius, and of delight in nature, he became, without knowing it 
a good, a great writer." — Blackwood's Magazine. 

•' All his pencil or pen has touched is established incontestably ; by the plate, description, and 
history he has always determined his bird so obviously as to defy criticism, and prevent future mis- 
take. . . . We may add, without hesitation, that such a work as he has published is still a 
desideratum in Europe."— Charles Lucian Bonaparte. 

COMPLETION OF PLANCHE'S GREAT WORK. 

Cyclopedia of Costume ; 

Or, A Dictionary of Dress — Regal, Ecclesiastical, Civil, and 
Military — from the Earliest Period in England to the reign of 
George the Third, including Notices of Contemporaneous Fash- 
ions on the Continent. By J. R. Planch^, Somerset Herald. 
Profusely illustrated by fourteen full-page colored plates, some 
heightened with gold, and many hundred others throughout the 
text. 1 vol. 4to, white vellum cloth, blue edges, unique style, 
$20.00. Green vellum cloth, gilt top, $20.00. Half morocco, 
extra, gilt top, $25.00. Full morocco, extra, very elegant, 
$37.50. 

" There is no subject connected with dress with which ' Somerset Herald ' is not as familiar as 
ordinary men are with the ordinary themes of everyday life. The gathered knowledge of many 
years is placed before the world in this his latest work, and there will exist no other work on the sub- 
ject haLf so valuable. The numerous illustrations are all effective— for their accuracy the author 
is responsible ; they are well drawn and well engraved, and, while indispensable to a proper com- 
prehension of the text, are satisfactory as work-; of art." — Art Journal. 

" These numbers of a Cyclopaedia of Ancient and Modern Costume give promise that the work 
will be one of the most perfect works ever published upon the subject. The illustrations are nu- 
merous and excellent, and would. even without the letter press, render the work an invaluable book 
of reference for information as to costumes for fancy balls and character quadrilles. . . . Beauti- 
fully printed and superbly illustrated." — Standard. 

" Those who know how useful is Fairholt's brief and necessarily imperfect glossary will be able 
to appreciate the much greater advantages promised by Mr. Planch6's book." — Athenceum. 



UOTFORM IN STYLE WITH LUBKE'S AND MRS. JAMESON'S ART WORKS. 

Monumental Christianity ; 

Or, the Art and Symbolism of the Primitive Church, as Witnesses 
and Teachers of the one Catholic Faith and Practice. By John 
P. Lundy, Presbyter. 1 vol. demy 4to. Beautifully printed on 
superior paper, with over 200 illustrations throughout the text, 
and numerous large folding plates. Cloth, gilt top, $7.50. Half 
morocco, extra, gilt top, $10.00. Full morocco, extra, or tree 
calf, $15.00. 

This is a presentation of the facts and verities of Christianity from the earliest 
monuments and contemporary literature. These include the paintings, sculptures, 
sarcophagi, glasses, lamps, seal-rings, and inscriptions of the Christian Catacombs and 
elsewhere, as well as the mosaics of the earliest Christian churches. Many of these 
monuments are evidently of Pagan origin, as are also the symbols; and the author has 
drawn largely from the ancient religions of India, Chaldea, Persia, Egypt, Etruria, 
Greece, and Rome, believing that they all contained germs of religious truths which 
it is the province of Christianity to preserve, develop, and embody in a purer 
system. The Apostles' Creed is exhibited, with its parallel or counterpart, article by 
article, in the different systems thus brought under review. 

The book is profusely illustrated, and many of the monuments presented in fac- 
simile were studied on the spot by the author, and several are specimens obtained in 
foreign travel. This is one of the most valuable contributions to ecclesiastical and 
archaeological literature. The revival of Oriental learning, both in Europe and America, 
has created a demand for such publications, but no one has occupied the field which 
Dr. Lundy has chosen. The Expositions which he has made of the symbols and 
mysteries are thorough without being exhaustive ; and he has carefully excluded a 
world of collateral matter, that the attention might not be diverted from the main 
object of the work. Those who may not altogether adopt his conclusions will 
nevertheless find the information which he has imparted most valuable and in- 
teresting. . • 

" As a contribution to Church and general history, the exhaustive and learned 
work of Dr. Lundy will be welcome to students and will take a high place." — Church 
Journal. 

"When, indeed, we say that from beginning to end this book will certainly be 
found to possess a powerful interest to the careful student, and that its influence for 
good cannot fail to be considerable, we in nowise exaggerate its intrinsic merits. It is 
one of the most valuable additions to our literature which the season has produced." — 
New York Times. 

The Epicurean; 

A Tale, and A lciphron ; a Poem. By Thomas Moore. With 
vignette illustrations on steel, by J. M. W. Turner, R.A. 1 vol. 
12mo. Handsomely printed on toned paper. Cloth, extra, gilt 
top, $2.00. Tree calf extra, gilt edges, $4.50. 

"Our sense of the beauties of this tale may be appreciated by the acknowledg- 
ment that for insight into human nature, for poetical thought, for grace, refinement, 
intellect, pathos, and sublimity, we prize the Epicurean even above any other of the 
author's works. Indeed, although written in prose, this is a masterly poem, and will 
forever rank as one of the most exquisite productions in English literature." — Literary 
Gazette. 



10 

The Turner Gallery, 

A Series of Sixty Engravings, from the Works of J. 
M. W. Turner, R.A. With Biographical Sketch and Descrip- 
tive Text by Ralph N". Wornum, Keeper and Secretary of the 
National Gallery, London. One volume, folio, India Proofs. 
Elegantly bound in half Levant morocco, extra, gilt edges, 
$50.00. Full Levant morocco, extra, very elegant, $75.00. 

The same. Atlas folio. Large Paper. Artists 9 

Proofs. Half morocco, extra, $110.00. Full Levant mo- 
rocco, extra, $165.00 

The Turner Gallery is already so well known to lovers 
of art and to students of Turner, that, in announcing a re- 
issue of a limited number of copies of this important National 
Work, little need be said by way of comment or introduc- 
tion. The Original Engravings have, for the first time, been 
employed, instead of the electrotype plates hitherto used, 
thus securing impressions of more gemdneness and brilliancy 
than have yet been offered to the public. Of the high-class 
character of the Engravings themselves, and of the skill and 
excellence with which they are executed, such well-known 
names as Jeens, Armytage, Willmore, E. Goodall, Bran- 
dard, Wallis, Cousens, and Miller, will be a sufficient 
guarantee 

From the London Art Journal. 

" A series of engravings from Turner's finest pictures, and of a size and 
equality commensurate with their importance, has not till now been offered to 
the public. 

" In selecting the subjects, the publisher has chosen judiciously. Many of 
his grandest productions are in this series of Engravings, and the ablest land- 
scape engravers of the day have been employed on the plates, among which are 
some that, we feel assured, Turner himself would have been delighted to see. 
These proof impressions constitute a volume of exceeding beauty, which 
deserves to find a place in the library of every man of taste. The number of 
copies printed is too limited for a wide circulation, but, on that account, the 
rarity of the publication makes it the more valuable. 

" It is not too much to affirm, that a more beautiful and worthy tribute to 
the genius of the great painter does not exist, and is not likely to exist at any 
future time." 

The attention of Collectors and Connoisseurs is particularly 
invited to the above exceedingly choice volume ; they should 
speedily avail themselves of the opportunity of securing a copy 
at the low price at which it is now offered. 



11 

AN ENTIRELY NEW WORK ON COSTUME BY 

AUTHOR OF "POLYCHROMATIC ORNAMENT," ETC. 

Le Costume Historique. 

Illustrated with 500 Plates, 300 of which are in Colors, 
Gold and Silver, and 200 in Tinted Lithography (Camai'eu). 
Executed in the finest style of the art, by Messrs. DlDOT 
& Co., of Paris. Representing Authentic Examples of the 
Costumes and Ornaments of all Times, among all Nations. 
With numerous choice specimens of Furniture, Ornamental 
Metal Work, Glass, Tiles, Textile Fabrics, Arms and 
Armor, Useful Domestic Articles, Modes of Transport, etc. 
With explanatory Notices and Historical Dissertations (in 
French). By M. A. Racinet, author of " Polychromatic 
Ornament." To be issued in 20 parts. Small 4to (7 j£ x 8^ 
inches), $4.50 each. Folio, large paper (11 y 2 X 16 inches), 
in cloth portfolio, $9.00 each. 

NO ORDERS RECEIVED EXCEPT FOR THE COMPLETE WORK, 

Each part will contain 25 plates, 15 in colors and 10 in tinted Lithography. Parts 1, 2, and 3 are 
now ready for delivery Upon completion of the work, the price will be raised 25 per cent. 

"The Messrs. Firmin Didot & Co., of Paris, a firm that disputes with the house of Hachette & 
Co. the honor of supplying France and the world with the most beautiful books at the cheapest rates 
compatible with the greatest excellence in editing and ' making,' have recently published the beginning 
of a work which, by making its appeal chiefly to the eye, is sure of a welcome in this picture loving age 
of ours. This is the History of Costume, by A. Racinet, well-known already to that portion of our 
public which is interested in the decorative art by his illustrated work on ornament. UOriiement 
Polychrome. — Racinet gives the word 'costume ' almost as wide a sweep of meaning as Viollet-le-Duc 
gives to furniture in his now famous Dictionnaire du Mobilier. * * * * The field surveyed con- 
sists not only of costumes proper, but of arms, armor, drinking vessels, objects used in the service of 
the church, modes of transport, harness, head-gear and modes of dressing the hair, domestic interiors, 
and furniture in the ordinary acceptation of the term. Each plate is to be accompanied with an explan- 
atory text, and there will be added an historical study, so that little will be wanting to make this one of 
the completest encyclopaedias of the sort that has ever appeared. * * * * A charming taste has 
presided over the selection of the subject, and the abundant learning that has been brought to bear in 
the collection of illustrations, from so wide a field of human action, is made to seem like play, -.0 lightly 
is it handled. * * * * No scientific arrangement is observed in the order in which the subjects 
are presented. We have ancient Egypt, Assyria, Rome, Greece, India, F.urope in the middle ages, 
and from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries, Japan, Turkey, Syria, Russia, and Poland, mixed 
up for the present, as if the work were an illustrated report of a fancy ball ; and, to most of us, the gay 
parade as it rolls along is none the less pleasant for this want of order." — Scribner's Monthly. 

"The name of Firmin Didot & Co., of Paris, is such a guarantee of mechanical execution in a 
book, that it is sufficient to state that Le Costume Historique is fully on a par with any of the former 
publications of this distinguished house. In addition to its other features, this work has numerous 
illustrations, giving restorations of Roman, Greek, and Egyptian interiors. In fact the work is conceived 
on a large plan, and will be found most useful to the artist. With such a book as a reference, some of 
the glaring inconsistencies we still see from time to time on the stage, where periods as to costume, some 
hundreds of years apart, are terribly mixed up, might be prevented, and the unities saved. The pub- 
lishers have had the excellent idea of reducing the size of the illustrations, so as to bring the price of 
this picture-cyclopaudia of the costume of the world within the means of the most prudent book-buyer." 
—N. Y. Daily Times. 

"Anew work on costume, most expensive to the publishers and cheap to the subscribers. Parts 
I., II., and III., with twenty-five pictures in each, are ready. We have minutely examined them, and 
find them worthy of great praise, both for general excellences of execution and for the recondite and 
curious sources drawn upon — the latter characteristic making the collector master of a great many pic- 
torial facts and illustrations whose original sources are hard even to see and impossible to become pos- 
sessed of." — Nation. 

"This work is unquestionably the best work on its subject ever offered to the public, and it will en. 
gage very general attention. In shapeliness and convenience, too, it leaves nothing to be desired, 
which cannot be said often of cyclopaedias of costume. One can enjoy the colors and contents of these 
4 parts' while lounging in a veranda or rocking in a boudoir. It is not necessary to adjourn to a public 
library and to an immovable chair." — Ez<e?ting Post. 

NEW SERIES. 

Examples of Modern Etching. 

A series of 20 Choice Etchings by QUEROY, BRUNET- 
Debaines, Hamerton, George, Burton, Wise, Le- 
GROS, Le Rat, Sevmour-Haden, etc., etc., with descrip- 
tive text by P. G. Hamerton, folio, cloth gilt, $12.00. 



12 

Examples of Modern Etching. 

Edited, with notes, by Philip Gilbert Hamerton, Editor of 
the " Portfolio." Twenty Plates, by Balfourier, Bodmer, Brac- 
quemond, Chattock, Flameng, Feyen-Perrin, Seymour Haden, 
Hamerton, Hesseltine, Laguillermie, Lalanne, Legros, Lucas, 
Palmer, Raj on, "Veyrassat, etc. The text beautifully printed on 
heavy paper. Folio, tastefully bound in cloth, fall gilt, $10.00. 

Among the contents of this choice volume, may be mentioned " The Laughing 
Portrait of -Rembrandt" by Flameng; Twickenham Cliurch, by Seymour Haden; 
Aged Spaniard, by Legros ; The Hare — A Misty Morning, by Bracquemond ; The 
Thames at Richmond, by Lalanne ; The Ferryboat, by Veyrassat, etc. 

*.£* A se t of proofs of the plates in the above volume alone are worth in the Lon- 
don market £10 10s. 0d., or seventy dollars currency. 

Etchings from the National Gallery. 

A series of eighteen choice plates by Flameng, Le Pat, Raj on, 
Wise, Waltner, Brunet-Debaines, Gaucherel, Richeton, etc., after 
the paintings by Masaccio, Bellini, Giorgione, Moroni, Mantegna, 
Velasquez, Rembrandt, Cuyp, Maes, Hobbema, Reynolds, Gains- 
borough, Turner, and Landseer, with Notes by Ralph N. Wornum 
(Keeper of the National Gallery). The text handsomely printed 
on heavy paper. Folio, tastefully bound in cloth, full gilt, 
$10.00. 

To admirers of Etchings, the present volume offers several of the most notable of 
recently executed plates, among others the Portrait of Rembrandt, by Waltner; The 
Parish Clerk, after Gainsborough, by the same etcher ; The Burial of Wilkie, after 
Turner, by Brunet-Debaines ; Portrait of a Youth, after Masaccio, by Leopold 
Flameng, etc. 

French Artists of the Present Day. 

A series of twelve fac-simile engravings, after pictures by 
Gerome, Rosa Bonheur, Corot, Pierre Billet, Legros, Ch. Jacque, 
Veyrassat, Hebert, Jules Breton, etc., with Biographical Notices 
by Rene Menard. Folio, tastefully bound in cloth, gilt, $10.00. 

Chapters on Painting. 

By Rene" Menard (Editor of ''Gazette des Beaux-Arts"). 
Translated under the superintendence of Philip Gilbert Hamer- 
ton. Illustrated with a series of forty superb etchings, by Fla- 
meng, Coutry, Masson, Le Rat, Jacquemart, Chauvel, etc., the 
text beautifully printed by Claye, of Paris. Royal 4to, paper, 
uncut, $25.00. Half polished levant mor., gilt top, §30.00. 



13 

Ancient Art and Mythology. 

The Symbolical Language of Ancient Art and Mytho- 
logy. An Inquiry. By RICHARD PAYNE KNIGHT, 
author of ''Worship of Priapus." A new edition, with 
Introduction, Notes translated into English, and a new and 
complete Index. By ALEXANDER WILDER, M.D. I vol. 
8vo, cloth, handsomely printed, $3.00. 

" Xot only do these explanations afford a key to the religion and mythology of the ancients, but 
they also enable a more thorough understanding of the canons and principles of art. It is well known 
that the latter was closely allied to the other ; so tha: the symbolism of which the religious emblems and 
furniture consisted likewise constituted the essentials of architectural style and decoration, textile em- 
bellishments, as well as the arts of sculpture, painting, and engraving. Mr. Knight has treated the 
subject with rare erudition and ingenuity, and with such success thai the labor of those who come after 
him rather add to the results of his investigations than replace them in important particulars. The 
labors of Champollion, Bunsen, Layard, Bonomi, the Rawlinsons, and others, comprise his deductions 
so remarkably as to dissipate whatever of his assertions that appeared fanciful. Not only are the 
writings of Greek and Roman authors now more easy to comprehend, but additional light has been 
afforded to a correct understanding of the canon of the Holy Scripture." — E.xtract from Editor's 
Preface. 

A SUPPLEMENTARY VOLUME TO "ANCIENT FAITHS." 

Ancient Faiths and Modern. 

A Dissertation upon Worships, Legends, and Divinities 
in Central and Western Asia, Europe, and Elsewhere, 
before the Christian Era. Showing their Relations to 
Religious Customs as they now exist. By THOMAS 
INMAN, M.D., author of " Ancient Faiths Embodied in 
Ancient Names," etc., etc. 1 vol. 8vo, cloth, $5.00. 

This work is most aptly expressed by the title, and the author, who is one of our most learned and 
accomplished modern writers, has done ample justice to his subject. He pries boldly into Bluebeard's 
closet, little recking whether he shall find a ghost, skeleton, or a living being ; and he tells us very 
bluntly and explicitly what he has witnessed. Several years since he gave to the learned world his 
treatise on Ancient Faiths Embodied in Ancient Names, in which were disclosed the ideas under- 
lying the old-world religions, and the nature of hieroglyphical symbols employed in the East. The 
present volume complements that work, elaborates moie perfectly the ideas there set forth, and traces 
their relations to the faiths, worship, and religious dogmas of modem time. We are astonished to 
find resemblances where it would be supposed that none would exist, betraying either a similar origin 
or analogous modes of thinking and reasoning among nations and peoples widely apart in race, 
country, and period of history. The author is bold and often strong in his expressions, from the 
intensity of his convictions, but this serves to deepen the interest in his subject. Those who have read 
his former works with advantage will greet this volume with a cordial welcome ; and all who desire 
to understand the original religion; of mankind, the ideas which lie back of the revelations of Holy 
Scripture, and particularly, those who are not easily shocked when they come in contact with senti- 
ments with which they have not been familiar, will find this book full of entertainment as well as of 
instruction. Dr. Inman is working up a new mine of thought, and the lover of knowledge will give his 
labor a welcome which few of our modern authors receive. 

Wheeler's India. 

History of India. By J. TALBOYS Wheeler, Assist- 
ant Secretary to the Government of India, in the Foreign 
Department, Secretary of the Record Commission, Author 
of the " Geography of Herodotus." 

The Ramayana and the Brahmanic Period. 8vo, cloth, 
pp. lxxxvi i. and 680, ''with two maps. $6.00. 

Hindu, Buddhist, Brahmanical Revival. 8vo, cloth, pp. 
484, with two maps, cloth. $5.00. 

Under Mussulman Rule, (Vol. IV.), 8vo, $4-50- 



14 

Dr. Inman's Ancient Faiths. 

Embodied in Ancient Names ; or, an Attempt to trace 
the Religious Belief, Sacred Rites, and Holy Emblems of 
certain Nations, by an Interpretation of the Names given 
to Children by Priestly Authority, or assumed by Prophets, 
Kings, and Hierarchs. By THOMAS Inman, M.D. Pro- 
fusely illustrated with Engravings on Wood. 2 vols., 8vo, 
cloth, $20.00. 

"Dr. Inman's present attempt to trace the religious belief, sacred rites, and holy emblems of certain 
nations, has opened up to him many hitherto unexplored fields of research, or, at least, fields that 
have not been over-cultivated, and the result is a most curious and miscellaneous harvest of facts. 
The ideas on priapism developed in a former volume receive further extension in this. Dr. Inman, as' 
will be seen^does not fear to touch subjects usually considered sacred in an independent manner, and 
some of the results at which he has arrived are such as will undoubtedly startle, if not shod:, the 
orthodox. But this is what the author expects, and for this he has thoroughly prepared himself. In 
illustration of his peculiar views he has ransacked a vast variecy of historical storehouses, and with 
great trouble and at a considerable cost, he places the conclusions at which he has arrived before the 
world. With the arguments employed, the majority of readers will, we expect, disagree ; even when 
the facts adduced will remain undisputed, their application is frequently inconsequent. In showing 
the absurdity of a narrative or an event in which he disbelieves, the Doctor is powerful. No ex- 
pense has been spared on the work, which is well and fully illustrated, and contains a good index." — 
Bookseller, 

NEW ILLUSTRATED EDITION. 

Ancient Symbol Worship. 

Influence of the Phallic Idea in the Religions of Anti- 
quity. By Hodder M. Westropp and C. STANILAND 
Wake. With an Introduction, additional Notes, and 
Appendix, by Alexander Wilder, M.D. New Edition, 
with eleven full-page Illustrations. 1 vol. 8vo, cloth, 
$3-00. 

The favor with which this treatise has been received has induced the publisher to bring out a new 
edition. It makes a valuable addition to our knowledge, enabling us to acquire a more accurate per- 
ception of the ancient-world religions. We may now understand Phallism, not as a subject of ribaldry 
and leering pruriency, but as a matter of veneration and respect. The Biblical student, desirous to 
understand the nature and character of the idolatry' of the Israelites during the Commonwealth and 
Monarchy, the missionary to heathen lands fitting for his work, and the classic scholar endeavoring to 
comprehend the ideas and principles which underlie Mythology, will find their curiosity gratified : and 
they will be enabled at the same time to perceive how not only many of our modern systems of 
religion, but our arts and architecture, are to be traced to the same archaic source. The books ex- 
amined and quoted by the authors constitute a library by themselves, and their writers are among the 
ripest scholars of their time. Science is rending asunder the veil that conceals the adytum of every 
temple, and revealing to men the sanctities revered so confidingly during the world's childhood. 
With these disclosures, there may be somewhat of the awe removed with which we have regarded the 
symbols, mysteries, and usages of that period ; but the true mind will not be vulgarized by the 
spectacle. 

The Eleusinian and Bacchic Mysteries. 

A Dissertation, by Thomas Taylor, Translator of 
" Plato," " Plotinus," " Porphyry," " Iamblichus," " Pro- 
clus," "Aristotle," etc., etc. Third edition. Edited, 
with Introduction, Notes, Emendations, and Glossary, by 
Alexander Wilder, M.D. 1 vol. 8vo, cloth, $3.00. 

In the Mysteries, the dramas acted at F.leusis and other sacred places, were embodied the deeper 
thoughts and religious sentiment of the archaic world. The men and women initiated into them were 
believed to be thenceforth under special care of God, for this life and the future. So holy and interior 
were the doctrines considered which iiad been learned in the Sanctuary from the two tablets of .stone, 
that it was not lawful to utter them to another. What was seen and learned elsewhere might he admir- 
able ; but the exercises of Eleusis and Olympia had in them the something divine, and those who 
observed them were " the children of God," and imaging Him in wisdom, intuitive discernment, and 
love. . . 

The reader desirous of getting the kernel of the doctrines of Plato, Orpheus, Eumolpas. and their 
fellow-laborers, as well as of the Alexandrian Eclectics, will obtain invaluable aid from this treatise. 



15 

NOW OFFERED AT GREATLY REDUCED PRICES. 

Pearson's Reprints of the Old Drama- 
tists. 

Being fac-simile reprints of the entire text of each 
author, without note or comment, with Life and Memoir. 
Handsomely printed on ribbed paper, made expressly for 
the purpose, and bound in antique boards, uncut edges, in 
exact imitation of the rare originals. 

Comprising the following : 

Mrs. Bern's Plays, Histories and Novels. 6 vols. 

i2mo, 

" 6 vols. 8vo, 

Large Paper. 

Mrs. Centlivre's Dramatic Works. 3 vols. i2mo. 

tt 8vo> 

Large Paper. 

Richard Brome's Dramatic Works. 3 vols. i2mo. 

« i< lt 8v0( 

Large Paper. 

George Chapman's Dramatic Works. 3 vols. i2mo. 

" " 8vo, 

Large Paper. 

Thomas Dekker's Dramatic Works. 4 vols. 12010. 

8vo, 

Large Paper. 

Thomas Heywood's Dramatic Works. . 6 vols. i2mo, 

8vo, 

Large Paper. 

Henry Glapthorne's Plays and Poems. 2 vols. i2mo, 

Svo, 

Large Paper. 

Together, 27 vols. i2mo, $54.00, or on large and thick 
paper, 27 vols. 8vo, $108,00. 

The balance of the edition of these reprints having been recently " sold off" in London, I am now 
enabled to offer them at the above greatly reduced prices, for a brief period only. Several of the 
authors being already out of print, the time is not far distant when it will be impossible to procure 
complete sets, and collectors will do well to secure them while they have the opportunity. 

Antiquities of Long Island. 

By GABRIEL FURMAN. With a Bibliography by Henry 
Onderdonk, Jr. To which is added Notes, Geographical 
and Historical, relating to the town of Brooklyn, in Kings 
County, on Long Island. 1 vol. large i2mo, cloth, $3.00. 



16 

Ancient Pagan and Modern Christian 
Symbolism. 

By THOMAS INMAN, M.D., author of " Ancient Faiths 
Embodied in Ancient Names," etc. Second edition, 
revised and enlarged, with an Essay on Baal Worship, on 
" the Assyrian Sacred Grove," and other allied symbols. 
By JOHN NEWTON, M. R.C. S. E. , etc. Profusely illustrated, 
i vol. cloth, $3.00. 

This book contains in a nutshell the essence of Dr. Inman's other publications, and for the 
reader of limited means is just what he requires. The subject of symbolism is as deep as human 
thought and as broad in its scope as humanity itself. The erudite thinker finds it not only worthy of 
his best energies, but capable of taxing them to the utmost. Many pens have been employed upon it, 
and it has never grown old. Dr. Inman's views are somewhat peculiar ; he has concentrated his 
attention to the ideas which he believes to underlie the symbolism of the most ancient periods, and 
can be traced through the autonomy of the Christian Church. He finds the relation which exists, and 
the antiquarian likewise, between Asshur and Jehovah, the Baal of Syria and the God whom Chris- 
tians worship ; and the mysteries of the Sacred Grove, of which the Old Testament says so much, are 
unfolded and made sensible to the common intellect. Scholars will welcome this volume, and the 
religious reader will peruse its pages with the profoundest interest. The symbols which characterize 
worship constitute a study which will never lose its interest, so long as '.earning and art have admirers. 

The Lost Beauties of the English Lan- 
guage. 

An Appeal to Authors, Poets, Clergymen, and Public 
Speakers. By Chas. Mackay, LL.D. i vol. i2mo, 
cloth extra, $1.75. 

Words change as well as men, sometimes from no longer meeting the new wants of the people, but 
oftener from the attraction of novelty which impels everybody to change. A dictionary of obsolete 
words, and terms becoming obsolete, is a valuable reminder of the treasures which we are parting 
with ; not always wisely, for in them are comprised a wealth of expression, idiom, and even history, 
which the new words cannot acquire. Dr. Mackay has placed a host of such on record, with quota- 
tions to illustrate how they were read by the classical writers of the English language, not many cen- 
turies ago, and enables us to read those authors more understandingly. If he could induce us to 
recall some of them back to life, it would be a great boon to literature ; but hard as it might have 
been for Caesar to add a new word to his native Latin language, it would have been infinitely more 
difficult to resuscitate an obsolete one, however more expressive and desirable. Many of the terms 
embalmed in this treatise are not dead as yet : and others of them belong to that prolific department 
of our spoken language that does not get into dictionaries. But we all need to know them ; and they 
really are more homogeneous to our people than their successors, the stilted foreign-born and alien 
English, that " the Best " is laboring to naturalize into our language. The old words, like old shoes 
and well-worn apparel, sit most comfortably, 

Fii-Sang ; 

Or, the Discovery of America by Chinese Buddhist 
Priests in the Fifth Century. Containing a Translation of 
Professor Carl Neumann's work on the subject, made un- 
der supervision of the Author ; a letter by Colonel Bar- 
clay Kennon, late of the U. S. North Coast Pacific Sur- 
vey, on the Possibility of an Easy Passage from China to 
California; and a Resume of the Arguments of De Guigues, 
Klaproth, Gustave D'Eichthal, and Dr. Bretschneider on 
the Narrative of Hoei-Shin, with other Contributions 
and Comments, by CHARLES G. LELAND, i vol. i2mo, 
cloth, $175. 



17 

FRANCE IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. 

Lacroix. 

(Bibliophile Jacob) XVIII me SIECLE, Institutions, 
Usages, et Costumes, France, 1700- 1789. Illustrated 
with twenty-one large and beautifully executed chromo- 
lithographs, and upwards of three hundred and fifty engrav- 
ings on wood after Watteau, Vanloo, Boucher, Lancret, 
Chardin, Bouchardin, Saint-Aubin, Eisen, Moreau, etc. 1 
vol. thick Imperial 8vo, half red morocco, extra gilt leaves, 
$13.50. 
The same, full crimson Levant super-extra, $22.50. 

The title of this new work, by the indefatigable Paul Lacroix, conveys but an indifferent idea of 
its contents. It is admirably gotten up, and is illustrated in a most profuse manner, equalling, if not 
excelling, the former works of the same author, giving i.s a living picture of the 18th century — the 
king, nobility, bourgeoisie, people, parliaments, clergy, army and navy, commerce, education, police, 
etc., Paris, its pleasures, promenades, fetes, salons, cuisine, theatres, costumes, etc., etc. 

A NEW WORK ON CHRISTIAN ART. 

Jesus-Christ. 

Attendu, vivant, continue, dans le monde, par LOUIS 
VEUILLOT, avec une etude sur l'Art Chretien par E. Car- 
TIER. 16 large and beautifully executed chromo-litho- 
graphs, and 200 engravings, etchings, and woodcuts, from 
the most celebrated monuments, from the period of the 
Catacombs to the present day. Thick Imp. 8vo, new half 
morocco extra, gilt leaves, $13.50. 

The same, printed on large Holland paper. Imp. 

8vo, half polished Levant morocco, gilt top, $22.50. 

This elegant work is uniform in style and illustration with the works of Paul Lacroix, by the same 
house. The illustrations (which were prepared under the direction of M. Dumoulin), are of the most 
attractive character, and present a chronological view of Christian art. The exquisite series of 
chromos are from pictures by Giotto, Ghirlandajo, Andrea del Sarto, Raphael, Fra Bartolommeo- 
Angelico, Sacchi di Pavia, Flandrin, and a head of Christ from the Catacombs, Fac-similes,by Armand, 
Durand, from rare etchings by Marc Antonio, Diirer, etc., also a reduction from Prevost, plate of the 
wedding at Cana, after Paul Veronese, and nearly 200 charming engravings on wood. 

UNIFORM WITH THE WORKS OF PAUL LACROIX. 

Jeanne D'Arc. 

Par H. Wallon (Secretaire de l'Academie des Inscrip- 
tions et Belles-Lettres). Beautifully printed on heavy vel- 
lum paper, and illustrated with 14 CHROMO-LITHOGRAPHIC 
PLATES, and one hundred and fifty fine engravings on 
wood after monuments of art, fac-similes, etc., etc. I 
large volume, thick royal 8vo, half red morocco, full gilt, 
gilt edges, $13.50. Full polished morocco extra, $22.50. 

Contents : An account of the arms and military dresses of the period, accompanied by descriptive 
figures taken from the seals of the Archives ; a map of feudal France, by M. Aug. Longnon, a new 
work of the highest importance to the history of the 15th century ; a study of the worship shown to 
Joan of Arc in the French and Foreign literatures (it is known that during the lifetime of Joan, her 
wonderful mission was represented on the stage) ; fac-similes of letters of Joan, etc., etc. 



18 

Dramatists of the Restoration. 

Beautifully printed on superior paper, to range with 

Pickering's edition of Webster, Peele, Marlowe, etc. As 

the text of most of these authors has, in later editions, 

been either imperfectly or corruptly dealt with, the several 

Plays have been presented in an unmutilated form, and 

carefully collated with the earliest and best editions. 

Biographical Notices and brief Notes accompany the works of each 

author. The series has been entrusted to the joint editorial care of 

James Maidment and W. H. Logax. It comprises the following 

authors : 

Sir William Davenant's Dramatic Works. 5 vols. 
John Crowne's Dramatic Works. 4 vols. 
Sir Aston Cokain's Dramatic Works, i vol. 
John Wilson's Dramatic Works, i vol. 
John Lacy's Dramatic Works, i vol. 
Shakerley Marmion's Dramatic Works, i vol. 

Together, 13 vols, post 8vo, white vellum cloth, $50.00. 
Large paper, 13 vols. 8vo, $75.00. Whatman's drawing 
paper (only thirty copies printed), $110. OO. 

The First Edition of Shakespeare. 

Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, and 
Tragedies. Published according to the True Original 
Copies. London. Printed by ISAAC Iaggard and Ed. 
BLOUNT. 1623. An exact reproduction of the extremely 
rare original, in reduced fac-simile by a photographic pro- 
cess, ensuring the strictest accuracy in every detail. Post 
8vo, half mor., gilt top, $3.00. 

"A complete facsimile of the celebrated First Folio edition of 1623 for half-a-guinea is at once 
a miracle of cheapness and enterprise. Being in a reduced form, the type is necessarily rather 
diminutive, but it is as distinct as in a genuine copy of the original, and will be found to be as useful, 
and far more handy to the student." — Athenceum. 

The Violin. 

Its famous makers and their imitators. By GEORGE 
Hart. In the above-mentioned work the author treats 
of the Origin, History, Development of this, the greatest 
of musical instruments, and gives interesting details con- 
cerning those ingenious makers who brought it to its 
present state of perfection. 

It is illustrated by upwards of forty first-class Wood 
Engravings from Photographs, which represent the exact 
Outlines and Proportions of the masterpieces of ANTONIUS 
STRADIUARIUS, AMATI, BERGONZI, and others, including 
the celebrated violin by JOSEPH GUARNERIUS, on which 
PAGANINI achieved his marvellous success. I vol. post 
8vo, cloth, $4.00. 

The same. Large Paper. Demy 4to, cloth, $8.00. 



19 

A SUPERB SERIES OF ETCHINGS. 

The Wilson Collection. 

Collection de M. John W. Wilson. Exposee dans la 
Galerie du Cercle Artistique et Litteraire de Bruxelles, au 
profit des pauvres de cette Ville. Troisieme edition. 
Handsomely printed on heavy paper, and illustrated with 
a series of 6S large and most exquisitely executed etch- 
ings, from the most remarkable pictures in this celebrated 
collection. FINE IMPRESSIONS. Thick royal 4to, paper, 
uncut, $25.00 ; or in half morocco, gilt tops, uncut, $30.00. 

*** Already out of print and scarce. 

This charming catalogue was gotten up at the expense of the generous owner of the collection, and 
the money received from its sale donated to the fund for the relief of the poor of the city. The 
edition consisted of 1,000 copies. It was immediately exhausted. 

The Catalogue is a model of its kind. The notices arc in most instances accompanied with a fac- 
simile of the artist's signature to the picture ; a biographical sketch of the artist; notices of the en- 
graved examples, if any ; and critical notes on each picture. 

The graphic department is. however, the great feature of this Catalogue, embracing, as it does, 
upwards of sixty examples of the best etchers of the present day. including Greux, Chauvel, Martial, 
Rajon, Gaucherel, Jacquemart, Hedouin, Lemaire, Duclos, Masson, Flameng, Lalanne, Gilbert, 
etc., etc. 

Diirer's " Little Passion." 

Passio Christi. A complete set of the Thirty-seven 
Woodcuts, by Albert Diirer. Reproduced in fac-simile. 
Edited by W. C. Prime. One volume, Royal 4to (13 x 10 j 
inches). Printed on heavy glazed paper, half vellum, 
$10.00. Morocco antique, $15.00. 

The Little Passion of Albert Durer, consisting of thirty-seven woodcuts, has long been regarded 
as one of the most remarkable collections of illustrations known to the world. Complete sets of the 
entire series are excessively rare. The editions which have been published in modern times in Europe 
are defective, lacking more or less of the Plates, and are of an inferior and unsatisfactory class oi 
workmanship. 



iEsop's Fables. 



With 56 illustrations, from designs by Henry L. Ste- 
phens. Royal 4to, cloth extra, gilt leaves, $10.00. 

Mr. Stephens has no superior in the peculiar style of illustration which is most effective in bring- 
ing out the spirit of /Esop's Fables, and in this volume he has given us fifty-six full page cartoons, 
brimming with droll humor, reciting the Fables over again, and enforcing their morals just as effect- 
ively as was done by ihe words of /Esop himself. The illustrations are among the finest specimens of 
art ever produced in this country, and the volume as a whole is most creditable to American artistic 
skill. 

Boccaccio's Decameron ; 

Or, Ten Days' Entertainment. Now fully translated 
into English, with Introduction by THOMAS WRIGHT, 
ESQ., M.A., F.S.A. Illustrated by STOTHARD's Engrav- 
ings on Steel, and the 12 unique plates from the fare 
Milan Edition. One volume, thick i2mo, cloth extra, 
$3.50, or handsomely bound in half polished Levant 
morocco, gilt top. $5.50. 

The most complete translation, containing many passages not hitherto translated into English. 



20 

Bell's Anatomy and Philosophy of Ex- 
pression, 

As connected with the Fine Arts. Profusely illustrated 
Royal 8vo, cloth, uncut, $4. 50. 

Tom D'Urfey's " Pills to Purge Melan- 



choly 



?? 



Being a collection of Merry Ballads and Songs, old and 
new, fitted to all humors, having each its proper tune for 
voice and instrument. An exact and beautiful reprint of 
this very scarce work. Small paper, 6 vols., crown 8vo, 
bds., uncut, $15.00. Large paper, 6 vols, crown 4to. 
Only a few printed. Bds., uncut, $24.00. 

" But what obtained Mr. D'Urfey his greatest reputation was a peculiarly happy knack he pos- 
sessed in the writing of satires and irregular odes. Many of these were upon temporary occasions, 
and were of no little service to the pirty in whose cause he wrote ; which, together with his natural 
vivacity and good humor, obtained him the favor of great numbers, of all ranks and conditions, 
raonarchs themselves not excluded. He was strongly attached to the lory interest, and in the latter 
part of Queer. Anne's reign had frequently the honor of diverting that princess with witty catches and 
songs of humor suited to the spirit of the times, written by himself, and which he sang in a lively and 
entertaining manner. And the author of the Guardian, who, in No. 67. has given a very humorous 
account of Mr. D'Urfey, with a view to recommend him to the public notice for a benefit play, tells 
us that he remembered King Charles II. leaning on Tom D'Urfey's shoulder more than once, and 
humming over a song with him. 

"He appears to have been a diverting companion, and a cheerful, honest, good-natured man ; so 
that he was the delight of the most polite companies in conversations, from the beginning of Charles 
II. 's to the latter part of King George I.'s reign ; and many an honest gentleman got a reputation in 
his country by pretending to have been in company with Tom D'Urfey." — Chalmers. 



UNIFORM WITH "TOM D'URFEY'S PILLS.'' 

Musarnm Delicise ; 

Or, The Muses' Recreation, 1656 ; Wit Restor'd, 1658 : 
and Wit's Recreation, 1640. The whole compared with 
the originals ; with all the Wood Engravings, Plates, 
Memoirs, and Notes. A new edition, in 2 volumes, post 
3vo, beautifully printed on antique laid paper, and bound 
in antique boards, $4.00. 

A few Large Paper Copies have been prepared. 
2 vols. 4to, $7.50. 

*** Of the Poets of the Restoration, there are none whose works are more rare than those of Sir 

iohn Mennis and Dr. James Smith. The small volume entitled " Musarum Delicise ; or, The Muses' 
Recreation," which contains the production of these two friends, was not accessihle to Mr. Freeman 
when he compiled his " Kentish Poets," and has since become so rare that it is only found in the 
cabinets of the curious. A reprint of the " Musarum Deliciae," together with several other kindred 
pieces of the period, appeared in 1817, forming two volumes of Facetiae, edited by Mr. E. Dubois, 
author ot " The Wreath,'' etc. These volumes having in turn become exceedingly scarce, the Publish- 
ers venture to put forth the present new edition, in which, while nothing has been omitted, no pains 
have been spared to render it more complete and elegant than any that has yet appeared. The type, 
plates, and woodcuts of the originals have been accurately followed ; the Notes of the editor of 1S17 
are considerably augmented, and indexes have been added, together with a portrait of Sir John 
Mennis, from a painting by Vandyke in Lord Clarendon's Collection. 



21 

The Story of the Stick 

In all Ages and all Lands. A Philosophical History and 
Lively Chronicle of the Stick as the Friend and Foe of 
Man. Its Uses and Abuses. As Sceptre and as Crook. 
As the Warrior's Weapon, and the Wizard's Wand. As 
Stay, as Stimulus, and as Scourge. Translated and adap- 
ted from the French of ANTONY Real (Fernand 
Michel). I vol., i2mo, extra cloth, red edges, $1.50. 

"Wrought for a Staff, wrought for a Rod. 1 ' 

Swinburne. — Atalauta in Calydon. 

The above work condenses in a lively narrative form a most astonishing mass of curious and recon- 
dite information in regard to the subject of which it treats. From the bludgeon of Cain to the trun- 
cheon of the Marshals of France, from the budding rod of Aaron to the blazing cane of M. de Kalzac, 
the stick, in all its relations with man since first he meddled with the Tree of Knowledge of Good 
and Evil, is shown here to have played a far greater part in history than is commonly imagined. It 
has been the instrument of justice, it has been the tool also of luxury. It has ministered to man, its 
maker, pleasure as well as pain, and has served for his support as well as for his subjugation. The 
mysteries in which it has figured are some of them revealed and others of them hinted in these most 
entertaining and instructive pages, for between the days of the society of Assassins in the East and 
those of the society of the Aphrodites in the West, the Stick has been made the pivot of many secret 
associations, all of them interesting to the student of human morals, but not all of them wisely to be 
treated of before the general public. The late Mr. l>uckle especially collected on this subject some 
most astounding particulars of social history, which he did not live to handle in his own inimitable 
way, but of which an adequate inkling is here afforded to the serious and intelligent reader. 



OUR EMIGRANT ANCESTORS. 

Original Lists of Persons of Quality. 

Emigrants ; Religious Exiles ; Political Rebels ; Serv- 
ing-men Sold for a Term of Years ; Apprentices ; Chil- 
dren Stolen ; Maidens Pressed ; and others who went 
from Great Britain to the American Plantations, 1600- 
1700. With their Ages, the Localities where they formerly- 
Lived in the Mother Country, Names of the Ships in 
which they embarked, and other interesting particulars. 
From MSS. preserved in the State Paper Department of 
Her Majesty's Public Record Office, England. Edited by 
JOHN Camden Hotten. A very handsome volume, 
crown 4to, 700 pages, elegantly bound in half Roxburghe 
morocco, gilt top, $10.00. 

A few Large Paper copies have been printed, small 
folio, $17.50. 

Blake's (Wm.) Marriage of Heaven 
and Hell : 

A reproduction and facsimile of this marvelous work, 
printed in colors, on paper made expressly for the work. 
4to, hf. Roxburghe morocco, uncut, $10.00. 1790 (1868). 

%* A very few copies remaining. 

" The most curious and significant, while it is certainly the most daring in conception and gorgeous 
in illustration of all Blake's works." — Gilckr is f s Life of Blake. 



22 

A NEW AND ATTRACTIVE BOOK ON MEXICO. 



A Peep at Mexico 



Narrative of a Journey Across the Republic, from the 
Pacific to the Gulf, in December, 1873, and January, 1874. 
By J. L. Geiger, F.R.G.S. Demy 8vo, pp. 368, with 
4 Maps and 45 original Photographs. Cloth, $8.50. 



The English Rogue, 



Described in the Life of MERITON LATROON, and other 
Extravagants, comprehending the most Eminent Cheats 
of both Sexes. By RICHARD HEAD and FRANCIS KlRK- 
MAN. A fac-simile reprint of the rare Original Edition 
(1665-1672), with Frontispiece, Fac-similes of the 12 
copper-plates, and Portraits of the authors. • In Four 
Volumes, post 8vo, beautifully printed on antique laid 
paper, made expressly, and bound in antique boards, 
$6.00, or Large Paper Copies, 4 vols. 8vo, $10.00. 

*:(.* This singularly entertaining work may be described as the first English novel, properly so- 
called. The same air of reality pervades it as that which gives such a charm to stories written by 
DeFoehalfa century later. The interest never flags for a moment, from die first chapter to the 
last. 

Asa picture of the manners of the period, two hundred years ago, in England, among the various 
grades of society through which the hero passes _ in the course of his extraordinary adventures, and 
among gypsies, beggars, thieves, etc., the book is invaluable to students. 



The Rump 



Or, An Exact Collection of the choicest POEMS and SONGS 
relating to the late Times, and continued by the most 
eminent Wits ; from Anno 1639 to 1661. A Fac-simile 
Reprint of the rare Original edition (London, 1662), with 
Frontispiece and Engraved Title-page. In 2 vols, post 
8vo, printed on antique laid paper, and bound in antique 
boards, $4.00 ; or Large Paper Copies, $6. CO. 

*** A very rare and extraordinary collection of some two hundred Popular Ballads and Cavalier 
Songs, on all the principal incidents of the great Civil War, the Trial of Strafford, the Martyrdom 
of King Charles, the Commonwealth, Cromwell, Pym, the Roundheads, etc. It was from such 
materials that Lord Macaulay was enabled to produce his vivid pictures of England in the sixteenth 
century. To historical students and antiquaries, and to the genera] reader, these volumes will be 
found full of interest. 



Westminster Drolleries. 

Ebsworth's (J. Woodfall) Westminster Drolleries, with 
an introduction on the Literature of the Drolleries, and 
Copious Notes, Illustrations, and Emendations of Text. 
2 vols. i2mo, cloth, uncut, $8.00. Boston (Eng.), 1875. 

*** Only n S7itnll Edition ; privately printed. 



23 



Swinburne's William Blake ; 

A Critical Essay. With Illustrations from Blake's De- 
signs in Fac-simile, some colored. 8vo, cloth, $3.00. 

A valuable contribution to our knowledge of a most remarkable man, whose originality and genius 
are now beginning to be generally recognized. 

Holbein and His Times. 

By Dr. Alfred Woltmann, translated by F. A. 
Bunnett. With portraits and nearly 60 fine engravings 
from the works of this wonderful artist. Royal 8vo, cloth 
extra, gilt leaves, $5.00. 

Memoir of the Lady Ana De Osorio, 

Countess of Chinchon, and Vice-Queen of Peru, A.D. 
1629-39. With a Plea for the Correct Spelling of the 
Chinchona Genus. By Clements R. Markham, C.B., 
Member of the Imperial Academy Naturae Curiosorum, 
with the Cognomen of Chinchon. Small 4to, with Illus- 
trations, $7.50. 

FOUNDERS OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 

Lives of the Founders, Augmenters, 
and other Benefactors of the British 
Museum. 

1570 to 1870. Based on new researches at the Rolls 
House ; in the Department of MSS. of the British 
Museum ; in the Privy Council Office, and in other Col- 
lections, Public and Private. By EDWARD EDWARDS. 
I vol. 8vo, large and beautiful type, cloth, $4.00. 
Large Paper, Royal 8vo (only 60 copies printed), cloth, 
$10.00. 

* % * By a special arrangeme?it with the English publishers, 
Messrs. Trilbner 6° Co., the above is offered at the greatly reduced 
price mentioned, 

Legge's Chinese Classics. 

Translated into English, with Preliminary Essays and 
Explanatory Notes. Vol. I., The Life AND TEACHINGS 
of Confucius. Vol. II., The Life and Works of 
Mencius. Vol. III., The She King; or, the Book 
of Poetry, Together 3 vols. 8vo, cloth, $10.00. 



24 

Diary of the American Bevolution* 

By Frank MOORE, from Newspapers and Original 
Documents. Handsomely printed on heavy laid paper, 
and Illustrated with a fine series of steel-plate portraits, 
India Proofs. 2 vols. impl. 8vo, paper uncut, $8.00. 
New York, printed privately, 1865. 

£*£ Large Paper. Only a Limited Impression. Published at $20.00 per copy. 

Littre's French Dictionary. 

Dictionnaire de la Langue Franchise. Par E. Littre, 
de l'lnstitut (Academie Francaise et Academie des In- 
scriptions et Belles-Lettres). Four large vols, royal quarto, 
new half morocco, $40.00. 

" No language that we have ever studied, or attempted to study, possesses a Dictionary so rich 
in the history of words as this great work which M. Littr6 has fortunately lived long enough to com- 
plete." — Saturday Review. 

UNIFORM WITH THE LARGE FOLIO SH/VKSPEARE EDITED BY 
THE SAME AUTHOR. 

Halliwell's New Place. 

An Historical Account of the New Place, Stratford- 
upon-Avon, the last residence of Shakspeare. Folio^, 
cloth (uniform in size with the edition of Shakspeare's 
Works edited by the Author), elegantly printed on super- 
fine paper, and illustrated by upwards of sixty woodcuts, 
comprising views, antiquities, fac-similes of deeds, etc. By 
James O. Halliwell, F.R.S. $10.00. 

This is a most important work for the Shakspearian student. The great researches of the author 
have enabled him to bring to light many facts hitherto unknown in reference to the >l great bard." All 
the documents possessing any real claim to importance are inserted at full length, and many of them 
are now printed for the first time. With respect to the illustrations, which have been executed by J. 
T. Blight, Esq., F. W. Fairholt, Esq., E. W. Ashbee, Esq., and J. H. Rimbault, Esq., no endeavors 
have been spared to attain the strictest accuracy. 

REISSUE OF CRUIKSHANICS ETCHINGS. 

Cruikshank's Illustrations of Time. 

A series of 35 Etchings. By George CRUIKSHANK 
Oblong quarto, paper, carefully printed from the original 
plates. $2.00. 1874 
The Same. Colored. $3.00. 1874 

Cruikshank's Phrenological Illustra- 

T10NS ; or, An Artist's View of the Craniological System 
of Doctors Gall and Spurzheim. By GEORGE CRUIKSHANK. 
A series of 33 Etchings, illustrative of the various Organs 
of the Brain. Oblong quarto, paper, $2.00. 
The Same. COLORED. $3.00. 

*** This reissue, of which only a limited impression has been made, is printed from the original 
coppers. 

"Have we not before us, at this very moment, a print — one of the admirable ' Illustrations of 
Phrenology'' — which entire work was purchased by a joint-stock company of boys — each drawing lots 
afterwards for the separate prints, and taking his choice in rotation ? The writer of this, too, had the 
honor of drawing the first lot, and seized immediately upon ' Philoprogenitiveness ' — a marvellous 
print, indeed— full of ingenuity and fine, jovial humor." — Wm. M. Thackeray. 



25 

SEVEN GENERATIONS OF EXECUTIONERS. 

Memoirs of the Sanson Family. 

Compiled from Private Documents in the possession oi 
the Family (1688 to 1847), by HENRI SANSON. Trans- 
lated from the French, with an Introduction by CAM1LLE 
Barrere. Two vols, post 8vo, cloth, $5.50; or half calf, 
extra, $7.50. 

" A faithful translation of this curious work, which will certainly repay perusal, rot on the ground 
of its being full of horrors — for the original author seems to be rather ashamed of the technical aspect 
of his profession, and is commendably reticent as to its details — but because itcontains a lucid account 
of the most notable causes celebres from the time of Louis XIV. to a period within the memory of 

V»ersons still living The memoirs, if not particularly instructive, can scarcely fail to be 

extremely entertaining.'' — Daily Telegraph. 

" A lxx)k of great though somewhat ghastly interest. . . . Something much above a mere chap- 
ter of horrors."— Graphic. 

Avesta. 

The Religious Books of the Parsees. From Pro- 
fessor Spiegel's German Translation of the Original 
Manuscripts, by A. H. Bleeck. 3 vols, in 1, 8vo, cloth, 
$10.00. 

English scholars who wish to become acquainted with the " Bible of the Parsees," now for the 
first time published in Knglish, should secure this copy. To thinkers the "Avesta" will be a most 
valuable work ; they will now have an opportunity to compare its Truths with those of the Bible, the 
Koran, and the Vedas. 

Freemasonry. 

«/ 

Paton's (Charles I.) Freemasonry, its Symbolism, 
Religious Nature, and Law of Perfection. Thick 
8vo, new cloth, uncut, $3.50. 

Hand-Book of Archaeology. 

Egyptian — Greek — Etruscan — Roman. By H. M. Wes- 
tropp. Profusely Illustrated with Engravings on Wood. 
8vo, new cloth, uncut, $3.00. 

The Gnostics 

and their Remains, Ancient and Mediaeval. By 
C. W. King. Profusely Illustrated. 8vo, new cloth, gilt, 
$7.50. 

*% The only English work on the subject. Out of print and scarce. 

Champneys' Quiet Corner of England. 

Studies of Landscape and Architecture in Winchelsea, 
Rye, and Romney Marsh. With thirty-one Illustrations 
by Alfred Dawson. Imperial 8vo, cloth, gilt, gilt leaves, 
$5.00. 

" Mr. Champneys is an architect who takes the liberty to think for himself— a man of much 
original genius and sincere culture, young, and with an enthusiastic contempt for conventionality, 
which I hope he may never outgrow." — New York Tribune, Letter fro)7t London Correspondent. 



26 

Ireland's Shakspeare Forgeries. 

The Confessions of William Henry Ireland, containing 
the Particulars of his Fabrication of the Shakspeare Manu- 
scripts ; together with Anecdotes and Opinions of many 
distinguished Persons in the Literary, Political, and Thea- 
trical World. A new edition, with additional Fac-similes, 
and an Introduction by Richard Grant White, i vol- 
ume, i2mo, vellum cloth, uncut edges, $2.00 ; or, on 
Large and Thick paper, 8vo, $3.50. Edition limited to 
300 copies. 

Enthusiasts are easily duped, and of all enthusiasts, excepting the religious, those who give them- 
selves up to the worship of some great poet or artist are the easiest prey of the impostor. To them, a 
book, a letter, the least scrap or relic which is connected directly, or it would seem indirectly, with 
their idol, is an inestimable treasure, and they are uneasy until it is in their possession, or removed 
hopelessly beyond their reach. Of all these enthusiasts the " Shakspearians " are, and for a hundred 
years have been, at once the most numerous, and the most easily, because the most willingly, deceived. 
To their craving and their greed we owe the " Ireland Forgeries," which were merely an impudent 
attempt to supply a demand — an attempt made by a clever, ignorant young scamp, who succeeded in 
deluding the whole body of them in England two generations ago. His " Confessions " are the 
simply told story of this stupendous imposture : and the book — long out of print and scarce — is one 
the most naif and amusing of its kind in the whole history oi literature. His exhibition of the 
" gulls," whom he made his victims, is equally delightful and instructive ; and chiefly so, because of 
his simplicity and frankness. He conceals nothing, palliates nothing ; tells the whole story of his 
ridiculous iniquity, and leaves a lasting lesson to the whole tribe of credulous collectors, Shakspearian 
and others. 

"It has frequently afforded me a matter of astonishment to think how this literary fraud could 
have so long duped the world, and involved in its deceptious vortex such personages as Parr, Whar- 
ton, and Sheridan, not omitting Jemmy Boswell, of Johnsonian renown : nor can I ever refrain from 
smiling whensoever the volumes of Malone and Chalmers, together with the pamphlets of Boaden, 

Waldron, Wyatt, and Philalethes, otherwise, Webb, Esq., chance to fall in my way." — W. H. 

IRELAND'S M Chalcographimania" 

Womankind in Western Europe, 

From the Earliest Times to the Seventeenth Century. 
I Humiliated Title, 10 Chromo-LITHOGRAPHIC Plates, 
and numerous Woodcuts. Small 4to, cloth, extra gilt, 
$4.50. l86 9- 

This work is something more than a drawing-room ornament. It is an elaborate and careful 
summary of all that one of our most learned antiquaries, after years of pleasant labor on a very 
pleasant subject, has been able to learn as to the condition of women from the earliest times. 

DeFoe's Life and Works, 

Life and Newly-Discovered Writings of Daniel DeFoe. 
Comprising Several Hundred Important Essays, Pam- 
phlets, and other Writings, now first brought to light, 
after many years' diligent search. By WILLIAM LEE, 
Esq. With Facsimiles and Illustrations. 3 vols. 8vo. 
cloth, $6.00. Or in tree calf, extra, $15.00. 

Vol. I. — A New Memoir of DeFoe. Vols. II. and 
III. — Hitherto Unknown Writings. 

A most valuable contribution to English history and English literature. 
. For many years it has been well known in literary circles that the gentleman to whom the public 
is indebted for this valuable addition to the knowledge of DeFoe's Life and Works has been an inde- 
fatigable collector of everything relating to the subject, and that such collection had reference to a 
more full and correct Memoir than had yet been given to the world. 



27 



World's Masonic Register: 

Containing Name, Number, Location, and Time of 
Meeting of every Masonic Lodge in the World, etc., also 
every Chapter, Council, and Commandery in the United 
States and Canada, Date of Organization, etc, and Statis- 
tics of each Masonic Jurisdiction, etc. By Leon Hyneman. 
Portrait, thick 8vo, pp. 566, cloth, $2.00. 

The Rosicrucians ; 

Their Rites and Mysteries. With chapters on the An- 
cient Fire and Serpent-Worshippers, and Explanations of 
the Mystic Symbols represented in the Monuments and 
Talismans of the primeval Philosophers. By HARGRAVE 
JEXNIXGS. Crown 8vo, 316 wood engravings, $3. 

*** A' volume of startling facts and opinions upon this very mysterious subject. 

Scientific and Religious Mysteries of 
Antiquity : 

The Gnosis and Secret Schools of the Middle Ages, 
Modern Rosicrucianism, and Free and Accepted Masonry. 
By John Yarker. i2mo, new cloth, $2.00. 

**#"The sublime depths of the mysteries of antiquity have been sounded but by few minds in 
the lapse of ages, and those who have leisure to follow upon their tracks will meet with an ample 
reward. 

ONLY ONE HUNDRED COPIES PRINTED. 

Duyckinck's Cyclopaedia of American 
Literature. 

Printed by Alvord, on a hand-press, and on tinted 
paper of extra weight and finish, prepared expressly for 
the work. For the convenience of persons desirous of il- 
lustrating the work, for which purpose it is admirably* 
adapted, it has been issued in five parts, with separate 
rubricated titles, each of the two original volumes being 
divided into two parts, of about three hundred and fifty 
pages each, and the new Supplement forming the fifth. 
A finely engraved portrait printed on India paper is given 
with each part. The subjects of these portraits are Ben- 
jamin Franklin, James Fenimore Cooper, Washington 
Irving, William Hickling Prescott, and, with the Supple- 
ment, a portrait of the late George L. Duyckinck, newly 
engraved in line, by Burt, after an original painting by 
Duggan. 5 vols. 4to, uncut, $25.00. Half morocco, gilt 
top, $50.00. 

Only thirteen sets of this edition now remain. 



28 

Payne Knight's Worship of Priapus. 

A discourse on the Worship of Priapus, and its connec- 
tion with the Mystic Theology of the Ancients. By 
Richard Payne Knight, Esq. A new edition. To 
.vhich is added an essay on the worship of the generative 
powers during the middle ages of Western Europe. Il- 
lustrated with 138 engravings (many of which are full- 
page), from Ancient Gems, Coins, Medals, Bronzes, 
Sculpture, Egyptian Figures, Ornaments, Monuments, 
etc. Printed on heavy toned paper, at the Chiswick Press, 
I vol. 4to, half Roxburghe morocco, gilt top, $35.00. 

" R. r. Knight, the writer of the first ' Essay," was a Fellow of the Tvoyal Society, a member of 
the British Parliament, and one of the most learned antiquaries of his time. His museum of Phallic 
objects is now most carefully preserved in the London British Museum. The second ' Essay.' bring- 
ing our knowledge of the worship of Priapus down to the present time, so as to include the more 
recent discoveries throwing any light upon the matter, is said to be by one of the most distinguished 
English anfquaries — the author of numerous works which are held in high esteem. He was assisted 
it is understood, by two prominent Fellows of the Royal Society, one of whom has recently presented 
a wonderful collection of Phallic objects to the British Museum authorities." 

Gesta Romanorum. 

Or, Entertaining Moral Stories. Invented by the 
Monks as a fireside recreation ; and commonly applied to 
their Discourses from the Pulpit, whence the most cele- 
brated of our Poets and others, from the earliest times, 
have extracted their Plots. Translated from the Latin, 
with Preliminary Observations and Copious Notes, by the 
Rev. CHARLES SWAN. New edition, with an Introduc- 
tion by Thomas Wright, Esq., M.A., F.S.A. 2 vols. 
8vo, vellum cloth, uncut, printed on large and heavy 
paper, $10. OO. Full calf, extra, $17.50. 

A limited edition only was printed, of which now only 
14 copies remain. 

" They" (the Monks) '• might be disposed occasionally to recreate their minds with subjects of a 
light and amusing nature ; and what could be more innocent or delightful than the stories of the 
Gksta Romanokum ! " — Douce' s Illustrations to Shakespeare. 

Jones' (Owen) Grammar of Ornament. 

A Series of 112 exquisitely colored Plates, executed in 
Chromolithography, comprising 3000 examples of the Dec- 
oration of all Ages and Nations, with Descriptive Letter- 
press, illustrated with Woodcuts. Folio, cloth, extra, gilt 
edges. $30.00. 

This new edition is a reproduction of the larger work on a smaller scale ; a few of the plates 
which could not be reduced have been printed on a iarger scale, and the same artistic matler has been 
extended from ioo to 112 plates. 



29 

Dibdin's Bibliomania ; 

Or, Book-Madness : A Bibliographical Romance. With 
numerous Illustrations. A new Edition, with a Supple- 
ment, including a Key to the Assumed Characters in the 
Drama. 8vo, half-Roxburghe, $6.00 ; a few Large Paper 
copies, Imp. 8vo, half-Roxburghe, the edges altogether 
uncut, $12.00. 

" I have not yet recovered from the delightful delirium into which your ' Bibliomania' has com- 
pletely thrown me. Your book, to my taste, is one of the most extraordinary gratifications I have en- 
joyed for many years." — Isaac Disraeli. 

Greville's Memoirs. 

Journal of the Reign of King George IV. and King; 
William IV. By the late Charles C. F. Greville, Esq. 
Edited by Henry Reeve. 3 vols. 8vo, cloth, $7.50. 

No equally important contribution to the political history of the last generation has been made by 
any previous writer. As a man of r ank and fashion, Mr. Greville associated, on terms of equality, 
with all the statesmen oi his time, and his long tenure of a permanent office immediately outside of the 
circle of politics compelled him to observe a neutrality which was probably congenial to his character 
and inclination. — Saturday Review. 

Archie Armstrong's Banquet of Jests. 

Reprinted from the original edition, together with 
Archie's Dream (1641), handsomely printed in antique 
style, with red line borders. Square i2mo, new vellum 
cloth, uncut, $6.50. 

The same, printed on Whatman's paper (limited to 25 
copies). Square i2mo, new cloth, $9.00. 

$** The edition (of all kinds) was limited to 252 copies. It is completely exhausted, and copies 
are now difficult to obtain. 

" A more amusing budget of odd stories, clever witticisms, and laughter-moving tales, is not to be 
found in Jester's Library." 

Nares' Glossary. 

Or, Collection of Words, Phrases, Names, and Allusions 
to Customs, Proverbs, etc., which have been thought to 
require Illustration in the Works of English Authors, par- 
ticularly Shakespeare and his contemporaries. NEW 
Edition, with additions, etc., by J. O. Halliwell and 
Thomas Wright. 2 vols. 8vo, new cloth, $6.50. 

Gavin Douglas' Poetical Works. 

With Memoir, Notes and Glossary, by J. Small, M.A., 
F.S.A. Illustrated by specimens of the Manuscripts, 
and the title-pages and woodcuts of the early editions in 
facsimile. Handsomely printed in 4 vols, post 8vo, cloth. 
$18.00. 1874. 

— The same, LARGE PAPER. Fifty copies only printed. 

4 handsome demy 8vo vols, cloth, $25.00. (Published 
@ £6.6.0.) 

The distinguished poets, William Dunbar, Gavin Douglas, Bishop of Dunkeld. and Sir David 
Lindsay of the Mount, form a trio of whom Scotland has every reason to be proud: but. as the Works 
of the second of these have not hitherto been collected, an Edition of them has long been a desider- 
atum in Scottish Literature. 



30 

Walford's County Families. 

The County Families of the United Kingdom ; or, Man- 
ual of the Titled and Untitled Aristocracy of Great Britain 
and Ireland. Containing- a Brief Notice of the Descent, 
Birth, Marriage, Education, and Appointments of each 
person ; his Heir Apparent or Presumptive ; as also a 
Record of the Offices which he has hitherto held, with his 
Town Address and Country Residence. By Edward 
Walford, M.A. i vol. thick imperial octavo. Cloth, gilt 
edges. 1,200 pages, $8.00. 

Caxton's Statutes of Henry VXL, 1489. 

Edited, with Notes and Introduction, by John Rae, 
Esq. , Fellow of the Royal Institution. The earliest known 
volume of Printed Statutes, and remarkable as being in 
English. It contains some very curious and primitive 
Legislation on Trade and Domestic Matters. In remark- 
able fac-simile, from the rare original. Small folio, half 
morocco, uncut, $7.50. 

Owen Jones' Alhambra. 

Plans, Elevations, and Sections of the Alhambra, with 
the elaborate details of this beautiful specimen of Moor- 
ish Architecture, minutely displayed in 100 beautifully 
engraved plates, 67 of which are highly finished in gold 
and colors, from Drawings taken on the spot by JULES 
GOURY and Owen JONES, with a complete translation of 
the Arabic Inscriptions, and an Historical Notice of the 
Kings of Granada, by PASCUAL DE Gayangos. 2 vols. 
imperial folio (pub. at ^"24), elegantly half bound morocco, 
gilt edges, full gilt backs. $100. 

The same work on Large Paper, 2 vols, atlas folio, 100 
plates, 67 of them in gold and colors, the engraved plates 
on India paper (pub. at £$6) f half bound morocco, gilt 
edges. $125. 

For practical purposes, to architects the small paper copies will suffice ; but gentlemen desirous 
of adding a noble book in its finest appearance to their library, must have a Large Paper copy 

" In spite of earthquakes, mines and counter-mines— spite of Spanish convicts, French soldiers, 
Spanish bigotry, and Flemish barbarism of thieves and gipsys, contrabandists and brigands, pau- 
pers, charcoal-burners and snow-gatherers, the Alhambra still exists — one of the most recent of 
European rums. It is the most perfect in repair and the richest in design ; it has suffered less from 
man. or the elements, and has fallen more gently into decay. It was not molten like Nineveh in an 
hour, or buried in a day like Pompeii ; it was not smitten down at a blow like Corinth, or sapped for 
centuries like Athens. Though it has been alternately a barrack, a prison, a tea garden, and an 
almshouse — though its harem has been a hen-house, its prisons pens for sheep ; the Alhambra is still 
one of the most wonderful productions of Eastern splendor, lingering in Europe lone; after the Mos- 
lem waves have rolled back into Asia, like a golden cup dropped on the sand, or like the last tent of 
some dead Arab, still standing, when the rest of his tribe have long since taken up their spears, un- 
tethered their camels, and sought their new homes in the far desert." 



31 



Prostitution, 



Dufour (Pierre). Histoire de la Prostitution chez 
tous les peuples du Monde, depuis l'antiquite la plus recu- 
lee jusqu'a nos jours. Illustrated with numerous fine C7i- 
gravings on steel. 6 vols, in 3, 8vo, hf. cf. gilt tops. 
Scarce. $18.00. 6 vols. 8vo, cloth, $13.50. 

Original and only genuine edition. 

In this learned work — the best that we have on the subject — many of the chapters are devoted to 
dissertations on matters of general interest to students of literature. We instance Chav. XXIV., con- 
taining a treatise on the Obscenity of the French language, the Jargon of Argot, its Origin, etc. ; also 
in Chap. XXXII., a highly interesting bibliographical account of the Aretin plates by Marc Antonio, 
etc., etc. 

The author was threatened with criminal prosecution, and pledged himself never to reproduce the 
work ; it has now become scarce. 

NEW AND MAGNIFICENT WORK ON TEXTILE FABRICS. 

Ornamental Textile Fabrics 

Of all Ages and Nations. A practical Collection of Speci- 
mens. Illustrated with Fifty Plates in Gold, Silver, and 
Colors, Comprising upwards of 1,000 various styles of An- 
cient, Mediaeval and Modern Ornamental Designs of Textile 
Fabrics, with Explanatory Description and a General In- 
troduction. By M. Dumont-Auberville. I vol. folio, 
cloth, gilt, extra. $25.00. 

The Editor of this work, M. Dupont-Auberville, is known as one of the most distinguished archae- 
ologists of modern France, and Textile Art is the department of archaeology to which he has devoted 
the best years of his life. His collection of specimens of textile fabrics embraces models taken from all 
ages and from all countries, and is admitted by all artists to be unique m every respect. 

The works of ancient textile art, both in the East and the West, are done full justice to, but at the 
same time the framer of ''Ornamental Textile Fabrics " has drawn more amply from the extensive 
stock of models belonging to more recent periods. From his immense collection of specimens taken 
from the Renaissance and the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, ne has selected those subjects 
which are most worthy of the attention both of the amateur and the manufacturer. In this manner the 
work now submitted to the public is not a mere ornamental one, but at the same time it possesses a 
practical usefulness which must cause it to be valued by all who make a study of taste in manufacturing 
industry in general, and the art of weaving in particular. 

AN ENTIRELY NEW AND REVISED EDITION. 

Old Print Collectors' Guide: 

An Introduction to the Study and Collection of Ancient 
Prints. Frontispiece, plates of monograms, and illustra- 
tions. By Wm. H. Willshire. Handsomely printed. 
2 large vols, demy 8vo, half morocco, gilt top, $11.00. 

** # This new edition entirely supersedes the previous one, having, in addition to much new mat- 
ter, full lists of Monograms and marks of celebrated collectors and amateurs. A work indispensable 
to the Print Collector, being a concentration in one volume of all the varied information relative to the 
History of Engraving and of Ancient Prints. 

Contents. — I. Engraving in Ancient Times. II. Engraving in General, from the beginning of 
the 13th to the 15th Century. III. On the Various Processes or kinds of Engraving. IV. Advice on 
the Study and Collection of Prints. V. The Various Schools of Engraving. VI. The Northern 
Schools to the time of Diirer. VII. Northern Schools from Diirer to the 17th Century. VIII. The 
Southern Schools of Wood Engraving. IX. The Masters of " Chiaro oscuro." X. Metal Engrav- 
ing. Masters of 1446, ec. XI. Dutch and Flemish Schools. XII. French and English Schools. 
XIII. Chief Etchers of the Northern Schools. XIV. On Engraving in the "Dotted Manner." 
XV. The Southern Schools of Engraving on Metal. Nielli. XVI. Italian Schools. XVII. School 
of Marc Antonio. XVIII. Chief Etchers of the Italian Schools. XIX. Mezzotinto Engravings and 
Engravers. XX. On the Examination and Purchase of Ancient Prints. XXI. On the Conserva- 
tion and Arrangement of Prints. Appendix. — British Museum Collection. Douce Collection. Oxford, 
Polytypage, Cliche, Mezzotinto Engraving, High-priced Books, Varia 15ib!iography, Monograms, 
indexes, etc., etc. 



32 

The Works of William linger*. 

A Series of Seventy-two Etchings after the Old 

Masters, With Critical and Descriptive Notes by C. 
Vosmaer. Comprising the most celebrated paintings of 
the following artists: Tintoretto, Rtjysdael, Rembrandt, 
Guido, Poussin, Rubens, Ostade, Jan Steen, Yan Dyck, 
Wouvermans, Paul Potter, Frans Hals, Yeronese, Joe- 
daens, Yan der Yelde, Brouwer, etc., etc. 

Ten parts folio, 16x22 inches, printed on heavy Dutch 
paper, $60.00. Or half morocco, extra gilt top, elegant 
and substantial, $80.00. 

" No engraver who ever lived has so completely identified himself with painters he had to in- 
terpret as Professor Unger in the seventy-two plates which compose his ' Works.' He can adopt at 
will the most opposite styles, and work on each with ease, a fluency such as other men can only 
attain in one manner — their own — and after half a lifetime. Indeed, one would not be going far 
wrong to describe Professor Unger as an art critic of very uncommon insight, who explains the 
sentiment and execution of great painters with an etching needle instead of a pen. 

" It has been said of engraving that it is an unintellectual occupation, because it is simply 
copyism ; but such engraving as this is not unintellectual, for it proves a delicacy and keenness of 
understanding which are both rare among artists and critics. Unger has not the narrowness of 
the ordinary artist, for he can enter into the most opposite styles ; nor has he the technical igno- 
rance of the ordinary critic, for he can draw — I will not say like a great master, but like twenty 
different great masters. 

" Mr. Vosmaer, the now well-known Dutch critic, who writes in English and French as well 
as in his own language, has much increased the interest in Unger's etchings by accompanying 
them with a valuable biographic e*say of his own, much superior to the ordinary 'letter-press,' 
which publishers in general appear to consider as a necessary companion to engraving. 

" The seventy-two etchings before us are. on the whole, the most remarkable set of studies 
from old masters which has been issued by the enterprise of our modern publishers, and they can 
hardly fail to make fine work better appreciated both by artists and amateurs. 

" A few words of praise are due to the spirited publisher, Mr. Sijthoff, of Leyden, for the 
manner in which these etchings of Unger have been published. They are printed on fine Dutch 
paper, and mounted (pasted by the upper edge only) on sufficiently good boards in such a manner 
as to enter into the most carefully arranged collections without further change. They are accom- 
panied by a text printed with the greatest taste, on very fine Dutch paper. This series is printed 
in one class of proof only, and issued at a price that is most reasonable, and Mr. Sijthoff deserves 
our thanks for placing works of real art, thoroughly well got up, within the reach of cultivated 
people who have limited incomes. 

" We recommend them strongly to all artists and lovers of art as a valuable means of art edu- 
cation and a source of enduring pleasure/' — Hamerxon in the International Review for Jan., 1876. 

Etchings after Frans Hals. 

A Series of 20 beautifully executed Etchings. By 
"William Unger. With an Essay on the Life and Works 
of the artist, by C. Yosmaer. Two parts, complete, royal 
folio. Impressions on India paper, $25.00. Selected proofs, 
before letters, on India paper, $40.00. Artist proofs on 
India paper, $60.00. Or elegantly bound in half Levant 
morocco, extra, gilt top, $15.00 additional to the above 
prices. Uniform with Uuger's works. 

"They who know the Dutch painter Hals only through the few portraits by him which have 
reached this country have but a slight comparative acquaintance with his works. k A stranger to 
all academical lore, to all literary co-operation,' writes Mr. Vosmaer, ' Frans Hals appeared merely 
as a portrait-painter, like most of the modern artists of his youth .... true to life, but also excel- 
ling by naturalness and masterly handling. Subsequently he portrayed the joyous popular life of 
the streets and the tavern ; at last those phases of national social life, which have at once their 
image and memorial in the pictures of the arquebusiers and the civic governors.' "—London Art 
Journal, Aug. 1873. 



33 

THE NEW FRENCH ART JOURNAL. 

L'Art. 

Revue Hcbdomadaire Illustrde. (M. Eugene Veron et 
Chas. Tardieu, redacteurs.) Handsomely printed on 
heavy toned paper, and illustrated with several hundred 
engravings on wood from drawings and pictures by cele- 
brated cotemporary artists, examples of antique and mod- 
ern sculpture, objects of Art Industry in all branches, and 
a series of superbly executed etchings by the best living 
etchers, executed expressly for this work ; being principally 
from the more noticeable pictures exhibited in the Salons 
of Europe, carefully printed on Holland paper. Forming 
four volumes a year. Royal folio {17% X 12 in.) of about 
500 pp. each, with nearly 200 woodcuts, facsimiles, etc., 
and upwards of twenty etchings in each volume. 4 vols., 
folio. Stitched, paper covers, uncut, $32.00. In cloth, 
gilt top, uncut edges, $40.00. Handsomely bound in half 
red morocco (Jansen style), gilt tops, uncut edges, $60.00. 

ANOTHER EDITION, printed throughout on heavy Hol- 
land paper, in the most careful manner. The etchings in 
two states, Artist proof on Japan paper y and ordinary 
print on Holland paper. The edition is strictly limited to 
one Jiundrcd copies, numbered. Forming 4 thick volumes, 
folio. Price, $125.00. 

%* N. B. — Payments to be made on delivery of each 
quarterly volume. 

OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 

"Nowhere but in Paris could such a Review be produced every week as V Art, so magnificent 
in every respect, paper, typography, illustrations, and above all, so many sided in its view of art, and 
so abundant and interesting in its information. It has now been brought to the fourth year of its life, 
with every sign of assured and increasing vigor, and we are glad to learn, from the report of the edi- 
tor to the subscribers, that something more substantial than the succes destime has rewarded the 
experiment of such a costly venture. . . . It is simply the cheapest and the best thing of its kind. 
M. Veron seems, at any rate, to have solved the problem of combining excellence with cheapness. 
We find, besides numerous little facsimiles of sketches, and autograph letters of eminent artists, 
musicians, and dramatists, no less than seventy fine etchings by such men as Flameng, Courtry, 
Desbrosses, Lancon, etc., and woodcuts of Claude's and Turner's pictures, with a series of very re- 
markable copies of the famous tapestries at Madrid, from the designs of Albrecht Diirer and Van 
Eyck, by Edmond Yon, Perrichon, and C. Maurand, as well as singularly fine examples of wood en- 
graving. Supposing the reading matter of the Review were as ephemeral and trivial in its purpose 
as the cheapest of the cheap instead of being, as it is, rich and racy, with the native style of all French 
pens, thoughtful and often profoundly suggestive, and generally complete in reference to detail, the 
two etchings by Flameng, from pictures by Frans Hals and Nicholas Maas, alone would be really 
most valuable and acceptable to the print-collector. . . . While L'Art is conducted in this style 
the editor may feel quite secure that France will not lose that artistic supremacy she has long held."— 
London Times. 

"It would be easy and pleasant to go on discoursing about the pictures in V Art, a paper which 
is so full of good, sober, and just criticisms, trustworthy news about art, and designs not otherwise to 
be obtained by most people." — Saturday Review. 

" The new volume of V 'Art sufficiently manifests the success of a very valuable and interesting 
publication. . ._ . There is no other journal in existence which so happily and skilfully combines 
the labors of artists and authors which does not subordinate art to letters, or letters to art, but permits 
them to go ' hand in hand, not one before another.' ... In brief, this grand folio volume of V Art 
abounds in matters of interest to all readers and students of aesthetic and cultivated taste." — The 
World (London). 

" There is some monotony in praising each successive portion of a periodical as it appears with an 
absolutely equal cordiality ; but the evenness of merit in U Art makes this uniformity of commenda- 
tion a duty."— The Nation. 

" America is so destitute of illustrated works which can at all compare with V Art that she cannot 
do better than study and enjoy this French publication. Certainly there is no other means by which 
so many valuable pictures can be obtained at so small a price." — The Christian Union. 

" Sumptuous in paper and type, lavish in illustrations, and with critical and explanatory text of 
singular merit ; the most famous of modern art journals." — N. Y. Times. 



34 

The Portfolio : 

An Artistic Periodical, edited by PHILIP GILBERT 
Hamerton. Illustrated with Etchings, Autotypes, Wood- 
cuts, Facsimiles, Engravings, Heliogravures, etc. Pub- 
lished monthly. 

Subscription reduced to Ten Dollars per annum. 

# * # Sent, Postage free, to any part of the United States, 
on receipt of the Subscription price. 

"The chief intention of 'The Portfolio' is to supply to its subscribers, at a lower cost than would 
be possible without the certain sale of a regular periodical circulation, Works of Art of various kinds, 
but always such as are likely to interest a cultivated public ; and to accompany them with literature by 
writers of proved ability, superior to mere letter-press, and more readable than pure criticism or cata- 
loguing." Among the artists who have furnished original etchings are Bracquemond, Lalanne, Rajon, 
Legros, and Leopold Flameng, who has given some noble specimens of his skill, especially in the repro- 
duction of " The Laughing Portrait of Rembrandt," in his particular province as a reviver of the works 
of that artist. The subjects in all cases are chosen for their worth and rarity, and in these respects the 
" Portfolio " fairly rivals its great contemporary, one of the noblest fine-art periodicals ever issued, the 
Parisian " Gazette des Beaux- Arts." It has the same finish in execution in the minutest details of 
paper and print, and is in every way a thoroughly artistic production, far ahead in this way of any- 
thing of the class heretofore issued in England. 

There are numerous single illustrations in the " Portfolio," worth the price of the volume, suitable 
for framing. 

OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 

"Of the Portfolio altogether it is to be said, that not only is it the first periodical in the Eng- 
lish language devoted to fine-art, but that it leads all others by a very great distance, whatever 
the second and third of such publications may be taken to be. 

" Wewarmly commend it to the notice of all who would cultivate in themselves and their families 
an appreciation of the beautiful in nature and art. The illustrations are largely of sylvan scenery, and 
etchings from the finest paintings are given, with letter-press descriptions, and the best articles from 
the highest authorities, so that the monthly paper itself, an illustration of what is taught, becomes a com- 
plete magazine of the science of art. We would regard the int* oductio?i of such a journal into the 
family as a good educator, while it will prove a source of exquisite pleasure to those who have 
already a taste for the beautiful." — N. Y. Observer. 

"We look for the Portfolio as for the only serial published, in which works of art of a certain 
kind and of peculiar merit are to be found. Etching is not as popular, perhaps, as it should be, but if 
anything is likely to bring its merits before the public, it is such examples as are to be had here. 1'heir 
effect is striking, and in execution they are little short of perfect ; at any rate they exhibit this kind of 
work in the highest degree of perfection to which it has attained." — N. Y. Daily Times. 

" Mr. Hamerton's Portfolio is easily chief among English art periodicals, and has the advantage 
of being written by men who are not only familiar with the literature of art and the works of artists, but 
are artists by profession, and so know the feelings, aims, and technicalities of artists. The editor is 
probably better acquainted with continental artists and their work than most of the insular fellows, and 
his art theories and criticisms are proportionately more catholic and valuable. The Portfolio, instead 
of being a magazine of current gossip about artists and their doings, is a work of permanent value, apart 
from its excellent illustrations, as a collection of able essays, critical, historical, technical, and personal, 
very free from narrowness and professional or national prejudice. It is the glory of the Portfolio 
that it is in a way cosmopolitan, free from the prejudices of nations and schools." — Atlantic Monthly. 

"The Portfolio is very charming. An Art periodical far superior to anything which has hitherto 
appeared . " — Guardian. 

" From the first it has stood nearly alone as really ' an artistic periodical.' An hour spent over the 
Portfolio is one of refreshment, encouragement, and unalloyed delight." — Spectator. 

" Of the Etchings the merits are unquestionable ; indeed, the work is enriched with some of the 
finest examples. The literary part is generally worthy of praise for being scholarly, graceful, and 
interesting." — Athenceum. 

" Dealing with artistic subjects generally, and always in a spirit of intelligence and refinement." — 
Graphic. 

"To the portfolio is unanimously accorded the first place as an artistic periodical."— Cambridge 
Chronicle. 

Back volumes for 1870, '71, '72, '73, '74, '7$, '76, and 
'77 may still be had on application. Any volume sold 
separately. Price, in blue cloth, gilt leaves, $14.00 each. 



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